Crabgrass
Digitaria spp.
Crabgrass is arguably the most notorious summer weed in Middle Tennessee. It is an opportunistic, warm-season annual grassy weed that germinates in the spring when soil temperatures reach about 55°F for several consecutive days. It thrives in hot, dry conditions where cool-season grasses like fescue tend to struggle.
Crabgrass is incredibly prolific; a single plant can produce up to 150,000 seeds in a single season. These seeds can remain dormant in the soil for years, waiting for the right conditions—sunlight and moisture—to germinate. Because it grows low to the ground in a sprawling, star-like pattern, it often evades mower blades, allowing it to quickly choke out healthy turfgrass if left unchecked.
How to Identify Crabgrass
- 1Grows in a low, sprawling, crab-like circular pattern.
- 2Leaves are wider than fescue, pale green, and often have a hairy texture.
- 3Produces tall, finger-like seed heads in late summer.
- 4Thrives in thin, bare spots or along the edges of driveways and sidewalks where the soil is hot.
Treatment & Control
The most effective way to control crabgrass is to stop it before it starts. This requires a properly timed pre-emergent herbicide application in early spring (typically late February to mid-March in Middle Tennessee) before the soil warms up. Once crabgrass has germinated and is actively growing, it requires multiple applications of a selective post-emergent grassy weed herbicide. Because mature crabgrass is highly resilient, maintaining a thick, healthy fescue lawn through fall overseeding is the best long-term defense to crowd it out.
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