Does anyone ever plant Crabgrass on purpose?

Question

My lawn is just terrible. I fertilize it and plant new grass seed every year, but it dies every summer. I think I have bad soil or something. The grass does okay for awhile, but as soon as it starts getting hot, the grass starts dying. The only thing that survives is the crabgrass.

I know crabgrass doesn't look as nice as normal grass, but anything is better than a completely dead front lawn. I was wondering what would happen if I just planted crabgrass all over the whole lawn on purpose. Does anyone ever do this? I can't afford to replace all the topsoil in my yard.

Is there any reason I shouldn't have a yard full of crabgrass? Would my neighbors hate me or think I'm weird? If this isn't something that's unacceptable, where would I find crabgrass seed?

Answer 1

I had the same problem until I discovered an amazing grass variety called Rebel which is a kind of tall fescue. One year I got fed up with my dying lawn that I tore up everything and separated my lawn into sections and did an experiment with several different kinds of grass seeds. (I planted in May.) After two months, the lawn was pretty nice across the whole thing. (By the way, I rely on mother nature to do the watering.) By mid-August the heat had killed the whole lawn except for one quadrant, the one with the Rebel Fescue. This grass is amazing. I think it's the long roots that it has.

The problem with crabgrass is that it is an annual plant. You could just let it re-germinate the next year though. To get seeds all you'd have to do is let the crabgrass go to seed one year and let it naturally spread its own seeds around. But your neighbors would hate you, in fact despise you because crabgrass is a nasty weed and they'll think you're ruining the neighborhood.

Read up on proper soil preparation, get the ground set and start planting the Rebel stuff, you won't be disappointed.

This is the bag I used:
http://www.penningtonseed.com/section/lawn_02.asp?type=products&category=tall+fescues&id=537
(I am in zone 6)

Good luck

Answer 2

The regular grass is not dead in hot weather - it is only dormant. When it gets cooler the grass will turn green again and will show up good next year in the springtime

Comes the winter the crabgrass dies and is not green until new crabgrass grows next year.

One more reason to not plant crabgrass is that it will spread to the other lawns in the neighborhood and make you a lot of enemies among those who care what their lawn looks like.

Answer 3

i don't know if anyone sells crabgrass seed

you should look into getting some Drought tolerant grass seed


Heat & Drought

An improved variety of premium tall fescue grass seed. Its attractive dark-green color builds a handsome lawn that wears well. Heat & Drought is a low-growing, fine-textured tall fescue.

Answer 4

only to get even with their neighbors!