Crabgrass killer?

If I over spray Crabgrass killer into the flower beds would it kill the plants that are just now coming up?

It will kill anything that is still a seed and would normally start growing soon. Any established plants shouldn’t be bothered by it.

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It will kill anything that is still a seed and would normally start growing soon. Any established plants shouldn’t be bothered by it.

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X2

I need to spray some crabgrass. Is it time?

Put down the granular before the next rain Steve.

Wedding cake

Wedding Cake.

most crabgrass products are preventitives so it wont kill the crabgrass it just wont let any more seeds grow so depending on the type of product you might be all right if the plant is already growing you should be all right

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Put down the granular before the next rain Steve.

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X2

Once the seeds germinate, you are SOL. Only way to kill it then is by hand pulling or killing all the grass. The key is to apply before germination, but not too far in advance that the effectiveness wears off. I believe grass germinates when soil temps hit 55 for a few days in a row. Consult the label on your preventative for application guidelines.

Crabgrass seed needs direct sunlight to germinate. That’s why it does so well in the thin areas of your yard. Notice you never see it growing in the road ditches where the grasses are tall and thick.
Bayer makes a spray that you can apply after it’s already established and growing.

I need to get some weed and feed down pronto. Every year I wait to long.

I also need to spray the creeping charlie now. Talk about a enemy that has a constant supply of reinforcements! I put a huge dent in it last year by meticulously spraying them about 4 times. But now I see they are already growing before the grass is turning green.

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I also need to spray the creeping charlie now.

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Living between two empty houses, I battle charlie each year. I spray it in the fall with Trimec (I mix it in a 2 gallon sprayer and spot treat)–hit it once, then spray it again 7 days later. That does a great job for me!

I tend to “accidentally” overspray into the neighboring yards by a couple feet to keep it at bay. In fact, I noticed the other day that there is a distinct line in the one yard where the charlie meets grass–quite easy to see where I sprayed and where I stopped

I think I use the same stuff. They say hit it in fall and/or now. There is a 3rd opportunity right when they are getting ready to flower?

I do the same thing you do. I spray. Go back 4-7 days later and some will look like they are in distress, others will look like they are laughing at me.

I thought the rule of thumb was to put crabgrass preventer down when the lilacs start blooming.

Someone Google it. I don’t want to put crabgrass killer down now only to have it wash away this weekend before it can do anything. But I think with a pre-emergent, it shouldn’t matter. I should know, as a kid I had to get certified for spraying chemicals when I worked for the city.

Where Woody and Forrest go, nothing grows.

Sadly I was thinking my dog I put down in OCT. would have had that problem solved for you quickly. I think it died just by him thinking about having to go outside.

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I think it died just by him thinking about having to go outside.

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Whenever I hear someone say that only female dog pee kills grass, I offer to lend them Floyd for the day. His pee is quite an efficient herbicide.

yeah for a 19 lb dog he was brutal. I had to repair grass.. by grass I mean 75% of the lawn.. EVERY SPRING Just to have him kil 50% of the seed.
yet oddly I miss him.

Ha ha ha! I know what you mean. Our yard now has a strip of wood chips that serves as the potty!

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I thought the rule of thumb was to put crabgrass preventer down when the lilacs start blooming.

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I agree. I put mine down too early last spring based on some comments I heard…and I had crabgrass bad last year.

I am lucky that most the grass in the backyard burns out and the dogs are small, so I really don’t notice their damage.

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…the dogs are small, so I really don’t notice their damage.

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You would not believe how large a great dane’s bladder is. That dog can literally pee longer than you’d think possible

Way to early to apply a crabgrass preemergant around may 15 is a good time. Applying it to early you risk having the product washed away or even breaking down before it has a chance to do its job.
Crabgrass does not start growing until the ground is 60 degrees so applying 2 weeks before the ground warms to 60 degrees would be something to shoot for.

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You would not believe how large a great dane’s bladder is. That dog can literally pee longer than you’d think possible

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Oh I believe it!

So my fellow IDOers which brand do you swear by for fertilizer and weed control. Once i get a consensus I am visiting their website to see when they suggest I should do my first round for crab grass and fertilizer. Not that I don’t believe what anyone has said so far, but I am hearing a few different suggestions.

Fertilome crabgrass preveter plus lawn food. If one plans to do any over seeding Fertilome also has a diluted product, I believe its at 10% preventer plus lawn food, that does very well at letting grass seed germanate and still control crabgrass.

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Put down the granular before the next rain Steve.

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That’s what I do every year and it seems to control it very well.

I would guess I typically put it on a week to 2 weeks before easter.

When the Lilac’s are starting to bloom should work pretty good. I like to get it done before that as it is morel time.

I ended up renting an aerator from a rental shop about 10 blocks away. I figured at $40 for 2 hours it would be worth loosening up the ground.

He suggested I might want to rent the thatcher next after the goose poop disappears. I’ll probably take him up on that too. I am a little concerned that might leave a lot of bare ground between grass. I guess I could overseed at that point.

The crabgrass killer might go down this weekend. Scott’s package and website give different suggestions of when to do it. The bag says after 3 or 4 mowings before the weather starts consistently being in the 80s. That to me seems way late.

Aerator and dethacher rolled into one.