My front lawn gets sun all day. It is the first place the snow melts from in the spring and it will be full of crabgrass before any other part of the lawn. Can I apply crabgrass preventer weeks before the forsythia shrubs bloom (maybe apply in March) or can you apply crabgrass preventer too early? Is there a lawn temperature I should wait for before applying the preventer? I live Albany NY. Thank you.
You can apply crabgrass in March if you want but it would be like throwing money out the car window. The #1 reason people fail to control crabgrass is because they lack the patience to wait for the proper time. You aren’t the decider. Here’s a link to a blog post about this. There is no bending the rules. The crabgrass needs to be actively sprouting for crabgrass preventer to kill it. It will be later than you think it is but that is something you’ll just have to deal with. Better a little too late than a little too early. Truth be known, crabgrass will still sprouting crabgrass seedlings that are as far advanced as the three blade stage. https://blog.timesunion.com/gardening/avoid-premature-application/6833/