Lawnworks Lawncare

Is It Crabgrass?

or Something Else?

Eliminate Weeds with LawnWorks

All About Crabgrass

From fescue to foxtail, there are several different types of grasses that could be in your lawn, and at a point they all start to look the same. However, these grasses have very different physiological and morphological characteristics that determine if and how they can be controlled. Often, our perennial weedy grasses are mistaken for crabgrass or other annual weedy grasses. We can treat for annual grasses, but perennial grasses require a non-selective herbicide like RoundUp and/or digging out and reseeding to control. This document will help outline the differences between some of the most common weedy grasses that may be in your lawn.

Get a Weed Control Quote

weed-control-services-lawnworks-lawncare

Crabgrass is the most common annual weedy grass in our region. It’s best controlled preventatively with a pre-emergent herbicide applied in spring. If it does break through, there are post-emergent herbicides available to control it which are more effective when the plants are younger. Crabgrass will NOT germinate until soil temperatures are consistently around 55° which is often around late-April/early-May in our area. It tends to stand out due to its lighter green color, wider blades, and its ability to outcompete cool-season grasses in the summertime. Its prostrate, crab-like growth when mature is easily recognizable. It is a prolific weed producer which is why it can become a perennial problem despite being an annual grass. Mature crabgrass will die off naturally after the first hard frost.

Get Weed Control Services 815-723-8760

Get a Lawn Care Quote

Weed Control Services

Say Goodbye to Weeds

Tall Fescue

Tall fescue is a very common perennial grass that is often mistaken for crabgrass. This is likely due to its wider blades and ability to outcompete other species in the summer. When inspected up close, tall fescue generally has a darker green color and prominent, deep venation. While fescue grows in clumps similarly to crabgrass, you will not see the prostrate, crab-like growth in a fescue plant.

Quackgrass

Quackgrass is a rhizomatous perennial grass. Being perennial, it requires a non-selective herbicide like RoundUp to control. Simply digging it out may prove difficult due to the underground rhizomes that can regrow. Quackgrass is easily identified by its ashy, blue-green color, clasping auricles, and longitudinal twist (leaf curling).

Orchardgrass

Orchardgrass is a cool-season perennial grass that grows in bunches. While it does have a lighter green color that may resemble crabgrass, it is easily distinguished by its flat leaf sheath/stems, folded vernation, and prominent membranous ligule.

Start Weed Control

Yellow Foxtail

Yellow foxtail is a warm season summer annual weedy grass that looks very similar to crabgrass. Because it’s an annual, we can control it pre- and post-emergently. Foxtail requires slightly warmer soil temperatures (consistently 65°) for seed germination than crabgrass, so it will appear a while after crabgrass begins to terminate. The most distinguishing characteristic of foxtail is its seedhead, which to no surprise resembles a fuzzy fox tail. It can have more of a reddish-purple stem than crabgrass, though this should not be considered a sole identifier of this grass. Around the base, stems may be more flattened. Leaves will often have a longitudinal twist like quackgrass. The ligule will be a fringe of hairs (crabgrass ligules are membranous), and there will be sparse, long hairs on the upper leaf surface near the base.