{"id":20890,"date":"2025-03-12T09:40:42","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T13:40:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/?p=20890"},"modified":"2025-03-12T09:40:42","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T13:40:42","slug":"crabgrass-and-forsythia-whats-the-connection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.meadowsfarms.com\/great-big-greenhouse-gardening-blog\/crabgrass-and-forsythia-whats-the-connection\/","title":{"rendered":"Crabgrass and Forsythia: What’s the Connection?"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s mid-March. Spring will officially be here in less than two weeks. Up to this point, we have been experiencing a harsher winter than we have had in the past few winters. Our plants have broken dormancy in the last couple of years, and many early spring bloomers\u2014such as forsythia\u2014have been in bloom. But, not this year. Many of our shrubs, trees, perennials, etc. have remained dormant but are anxious to start growing and showing off. As of this writing (February 25th), our soil temperature is 35 degrees. Our surface soil is hard and crusty, so it is no wonder that all our plants remain dormant. In the past couple of years, our soil temperature was in the low 40s, and our forsythia shrubs were showing color.<\/p>\n

So, what is the connection between crabgrass and forsythia? In this general area, we will use the forsythia as our indicator that it is time to apply crabgrass pre-emergent for control. When we see our forsythia in bloom, our soil temperature is warm enough to allow the forsythia to begin blooming. With this warmer soil temperature, the crabgrass seed thinks it is time to sprout.<\/p>\n

HERE IS A RUN DOWN ON CRABGRASS THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW<\/h3>\n

Crabgrass is an annual weedy grass that needs a warm, sunny environment to grow. Annual is a term that refers to a one-year lifespan. The seed germinates in early to mid-spring in our area when our soil temperature is around 50 degrees. Crabgrass grows vigorously through late spring and summer and then dies with the arrival of frosty, freezing temperatures in the late fall to early winter. This is important to know. Each plant can produce over 3,000 seeds, which will lay dormant in our turf through the winter and sprout in the spring.<\/p>\n

If you had a problem with crabgrass last year, you will likely have one again this year.<\/p>\n

Now is the best time to control crabgrass by using a pre-emergent product. Now, you may be thinking, \u201cwhat does pre-emergent mean?\u201d In a quick nutshell\u2014a pre-emergent weed control product will prevent seeds from germinating and ever growing. This is why now is the best time to apply a pre-emergent crabgrass control.<\/p>\n

We have no idea what Mother Nature has in store for us when it comes to warming up and warming up our soil temperature. With this said, I would not wait too much longer to apply a pre-emergent control. If you wait too long, the crabgrass seeds could begin germinating, and this pre-emergent product will disappoint you.<\/p>\n

Here are a couple of examples of pre-emergent products:<\/p>\n

Corn Gluten Meal<\/h4>\n

This is a natural, organic weed preventer that controls crabgrass and other annual weed seeds. Once applied, it will be effective for up to two months.<\/p>\n

Preen<\/h4>\n

Preen prevents crabgrass and over 25 other weeds from germinating and growing. For best results apply again 90 days later.<\/p>\n

Please understand this: Applying a pre-emergent control to your lawn will also prevent any new grass seed from germinating. For this reason, we seed and fertilize our lawns in the fall and early winter. Use the spring to fight the weeds.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We are ready to serve your needs, so come and see us.<\/p>\n

HAPPY SPRING TO EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!<\/em><\/p>\n

To read more posts from Doug, visit our blog<\/a><\/p>\n

Return to the Great Big Greenhouse homepage<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s mid-March. Spring will officially be here in less than two weeks. Up to this point, we have been experiencing a harsher winter than we have had in the past few winters. Our plants have broken dormancy in the last couple of years, and many early spring bloomers\u2014such as forsythia\u2014have been in bloom. But, not … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":20891,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCrabgrass and Forsythia: What's the Connection? - The Great Big Greenhouse Gardening Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What's the connection between crabgrass and forsythia? 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