When growing a healthy and well-manicured lawn, weeds are the worst enemy. You may frequently mow, water occasionally, aerate, dethatch, and apply fertilizer, but still have an unhealthy property due to weeds invasion. Grassy weeds are hard to eliminate as they grow and spread aggressively. Dallisgrass and crabgrass are among the different grassy weeds which are often mistaken for one another due to their similarities. This article will discuss crabgrass vs dallisgrass identification and control.
The best way to differentiate crabgrass from dallisgrass is by checking the seed head, as dallisgrass seed heads are much larger. Also, while the crabgrass seed heads grow at the top of the stem, the latter’s seed heads develop at the stem’s side. The dallisgrass seed heads are coarse-textured and have black spots, but those of crabgrass are fine and lack spots.
What Does Dallisgrass Look Like?
Dallisgrass is a tall and upright grassy weed that thrives during warm conditions. It grows in thick clumps, and its seed stalks are tall. The leaves are grayish or green, as seen in dallis grass images above. Furthermore, the plant is deeply rooted, making it difficult to combat.
The most identifiable characteristic of this weed is the seed head, as it is large, coarse-textured, and has black spots.
What Does Crabgrass Look Like?
Crabgrass is a bit shorter than dallisgrass and has broad leaves. It appears like coarse clumps of turf with sprawling stems resembling crab legs.
Its color is lighter than normal healthy grass, and that’s how you can identify it from a lawn. Additionally, the crabgrass’s seed heads are finely textured and smaller than those of dallisgrass. These weeds resemble St. Augustine grass.
Dallisgrass Vs Crabgrass: Differences
| Dallisgrass | Crabgrass | |
| It is coarsely textured, and grows in solid and circular clumps. | It spreads in a star-like pattern. | |
| Have large seed heads with black spots. | Have plain and small seed heads. | |
| Thrives under nitrogenous fertilizer. | The grass grows thicker and fuller with fertilizer and suppresses crabgrass growth. | |
| Springs from the roots yearly. | Springs from seeds yearly. | |
| It has gray or dark shades of green. | It is lighter green. | |
Controlling Crab Grass Vs Dallisgrass
It’s good to identify and differentiate the weeds you’re dealing with, as dallisgrass control takes a different approach from crabgrass control.
You can easily eliminate crabgrass from the lawn with an excellent weed control program.
However, getting rid of dallisgrass is challenging; thus, lawn professionals recommend sodding. In this case, you must remove the grass from the affected areas, loosen the soil, fertilize, and install new sod.
You can also use Glyphosate Herbicide to control dallisgrass and crabgrass weeds from your lawn.
Where to Buy Glyphosate Herbicide Near Me
Most gardeners in the United States use Glyphosate Herbicide to control all annual weeds, especially dallisgrass and crabgrass. You can get it in the following stores;
- FBN Direct, which is located in San Carlos, CA, and South Dakota.
- Pride Ag Resources/Ace Hardware, located in Dodge City, Maize, Meade, and Lyons, KS.
- Roeland Park Lowe’s Home Improvement Store, located at Overland Park, Shawnee, and Kansas City.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Q: Will crab grass killer kill dallis grass?
A: The herbicides you use to treat crabgrass can also effectively control dallisgrass. If you apply pre-emergence herbicides for both weeds, you must water the lawn immediately to be effective.
Q: How deep are dallisgrass roots?
A: Dallisgrass roots are quite long, growing up to a meter deep. This makes it difficult to uproot the plant by hand. Remember, if you pull the weed and leave a few roots, they will regrow to new seed heads and shoots.
Conclusion
Weeds, especially crabgrass, and dallisgrass, can be the worst enemy when growing a well-manicured and healthy lawn. To control them, you must first identify which is which, as the treatment approach differs.
You can differentiate crabgrass vs dallisgrass by checking their physical characteristics and habits. Dallisgrass seed heads are much larger than crabgrass and are coarse-textured with small black spots.
Additionally, dallisgrass has gray or dark shades of green, while crabgrass is light green. You can control both of them with Glyphosate Herbicide, although sodding is preferred for dallisgrass.
