You’re attempting to perfect your luscious green lawn this year, but noticing a grass-like growth that looks a little different from the rest. Is it a lighter shade of green than your grass? Does it have long, tapered blades? If so, you may be having patches of crabgrass or quackgrass sprouting in your lawn.
If you’re serious about having an immaculate lawn this year and for the years to come, it’s important to attack these weeds right away so they don’t continue to spread. However, how do you know whether you have crabgrass or quackgrass growing in your lawn? What is the difference between these two weeds, and do they require two different treatment methods to get rid of them?
These are just a few of the questions we have been receiving. To clear the air of the confusion between these two invasive weeds, here’s a little bit of information so you can recognize the difference between them!
What Is Crabgrass?
Crabgrass is an annual grassy weed that invades many lawns in the Twin Cities metro area. Though it may have some resemblance to your green lawn, this weed grows to have broader blades than typical grass and it features a rougher texture. Instead of several different grass blades growing straight up from the soil, crabgrass spreads out in clumps.
It can be easy to differentiate between normal grass and the invasive weed since crabgrass usually grows faster, features one central root for each clump and has a lighter color. If you’re noticing these plants already, you can pull them out of the ground fairly easily, but they will unfortunately leave behind seeds. With this being the case, it’s important to apply crabgrass control during the springtime. Because the crabgrass seeds germinate and develop in the spring, the best time to apply any crabgrass control measures will be between April and May when the soil temperature is around 55 degrees.
What Is Quackgrass?
Quackgrass is a perennial and features a few distinguishing characteristics that set it apart from normal grass and crabgrass. Unlike the smoothness of grass and crabgrass blades, the stem and blade of quackgrass will feel a bit more rough. Also, there will be auricles that come off the straight blade and it will have a long tapered look to the blade.
Quackgrass also features a very tough root system. Unlike crabgrass, which you can easily pull out of the ground, quackgrass is more difficult of a weed to pull. Once this weed is established, even if you pull out the tough root system, there may be a possibility that it may begin to regrow because part of their unique lateral root system may still be alive.
How To Get Rid Of Crabgrass & Quackgrass
Neither crabgrass or quackgrass will disappear on their own. At Alex’s Lawn & Turf, we have a specialized chemical that we spot spray on these weeds in order to get rid of it during the current growing season. However, even if the plant is killed during the current year, there is still a chance that you may need to have crabgrass or quackgrass that needs to be sprayed again in the following year. This is because of the seeds that have already dropped and may germinate during the following spring.
If you choose to ignore the problem early on, quackgrass and crabgrass have the potential to spread and take over your lawn. Instead, reach out for professional help in order to provide a reliable treatment to get rid of the annoying crabgrass and quackgrass weeds in your lawn.
If you’re located in the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area, contact the crabgrass and quackgrass removal experts at Alex’s Lawn & Turf today! Our friendly team will gladly answer any questions you may have about our services or schedule you for one of our effective crabgrass or quackgrass removal services. Even healthy lawns can get these grassy weeds and the sooner we can address the problem the better.
Enough sitting inside and scrolling on your phone – it’s time to get outside and enjoy your beautiful lawn before the summer slips away!