crab grass

You don't say where you are located, but unless it's someplace warm, crabgrass isn't growing yet in most of the US, where it only becomes an apparent problem in Jul/Aug.

If you do have crabgrass, Acclaim is very effective. The stuff sold at the typical retail shops doesn't work very well at all and I wouldn't waste my time with it.

Ok thanks. I am in NJ. What is Acclaim?

A difficult to find (at least in my experience) somewhat selective herbicide that, if used properly, will kill crabgrass without severely damaging fescue or zoysia. Bermuda will be harmed somewhat more, but bermuda is pretty hardy. Image is about $60 per pint, but a pint goes a long way.

My recommendation is Image. It deals with crabgrass and the various sedges pretty well and does less harm than Acclaim on many grasses. A pint of image will cost $10 or so and will do 10,000 square feet, plus or minus.

Don't use any product designed to kill crabgrass if your lawn is centipede or st. augustine.

If you want to do more research, try greenbook.net. Even without a subscription, you can see the product data sheets on most commercially available herbicides.

KB

One thing is for sure and that' s that whatever you have in NJ isn't crabgrass. I'd take a sample and get in ID'd at your local agricultural extension service. Otherwise, you could waste money on herbicides that aren't going to work.

I concur that the OP probably isn't seeing crabgrass right now in NJ. We (I) am just starting to see small crabgrass plants in my lawn here in Atlanta.

So what is the grass that grows in clumps and has very course blades and looks really bad? My neighbors used to call it crabgrass.

You may be seeing what's locally called "Quackgrass" in my area.

It's different than crabgrass and I do not believe there is a selective herbicide for it. The last time I checked the only remedy was to keep the grass cut fairly short and take care not to overfertilize.

Good luck with it.

Peter H

Course fescue.

It's unrealistic to expect anyone to ID a grass based on a general description and not even a picture. Take a sample of what you have to the Rugers County Agricultural Extension Service. If it's a grass, unless you use one of the specific herbicides that are effective against some types, you're wasting your time. And as Peter pointed out, for some grasses, there aren't any selective herbicides for turf.