As summer winds down, you may start spotting patches of crabgrass creeping in along sidewalks, driveways, and curbs. These areas are prime real estate for crabgrass, and it’s not by chance.
Why Edges Are Crabgrass Hotspots
Concrete absorbs heat during the day and radiates it back into the soil, driving up soil temperatures around those edges. While your cool-season grass struggles in these hotter, drier spots, crabgrass thrives. By late summer, conditions are ideal for it to take hold and spread.
What’s Happening to Your Lawn
- Breakdown of pre-emergent protection: The spring barrier applied to block crabgrass naturally weakens over time due to sun, microbes, and high heat. Near concrete, the soil can be 10–15°F warmer, speeding up that breakdown and leaving edges unprotected by late summer.
- Stressed turf opens the door: Heat and dryness weaken grass growing along sidewalks and driveways. Dormant crabgrass seeds in the soil can then sprout and quickly fill in these gaps.
- Spreading inward: Once crabgrass takes root along edges, it can move into healthier areas of your lawn, creating bigger issues that carry into the following year.
How Green Envy Helps
Our late-summer lawn care approach zeroes in on these stressed border zones. We focus on reducing crabgrass pressure, boosting turf recovery, and setting your lawn up for a healthy fall and strong comeback next spring.
Tips You Can Try at Home
- Water lawn edges during hot, dry stretches to reduce stress.
- Mow carefully along concrete, avoiding scalping the grass.
- Limit soil disturbance at edges, since turning over the soil can bring buried crabgrass seeds to the surface.
By tackling these high-risk spots together, we can keep crabgrass in check and ensure your lawn stays lush and resilient year after year.