information provided by ferti-lome ‘Info Sheet’
Mid to Late Spring
We know that Crabgrass and other annual grasses come from a seed every year. They don’t germinate until the soil temperature gets warm enough. This is the only time of the year that you don’t have to know what type of grass it is in order to control it.
If you have a grass in your lawn and you don’t want it there and it is early in the year, it is a perennial grass. The common ones in the Central Plains are; Tall Fescue (the weed-type), Quackgrass, Orchardgrass and others. Many areas may have these or other grasses, but the control is the same for all of them.
Control
Unfortunately the control of grass type weeds in the spring is a non-selective weed and grass killer. Hi-Yield KillZall Weed & Grass Killer is the product of choice. Yes, I know this kills all grasses, including the grass you want to save.
This leaves us with a few options:
1. Spray the spot and leave a brown polka dot in the lawn.
2. Mix up the KillZall and use a foam paintbrush, (so you don’t dribble between clumps) and either daub it on the clump or brush it on only the leaves that are upright, without touching the good grass.
3. Put on some rubber gloves, then lift up the grass and brush on the weed and carefully put the treated blades back.
4. Put on the rubber gloves, then a cotton glove over the top of one of the rubber gloves, then dip the cotton glove in the mixture and wipe it on the weed blades.