If crabgrass dies after the first frost, would a freeze spray or ice kill it also? I would imagine it would need to stay on the crabgrass for a certain amount of time or long enough to freeze the foliage. What are your thoughts? It may not be practical with the stuff we have available now except for on your own property or recommending the customer put ice on their crabgrass. Maybe someone has invented a freeze blaster! I’m just curious to know if anyone has tried to freeze it?
Crabgrass
Mow Money Lawn Care
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If crabgrass dies after the first frost, would a freeze spray or ice kill it also? I would imagine it would need to stay on the crabgrass for a certain amount of time or long enough to freeze the foliage. What are your thoughts? It may not be practical with the stuff we have available now except for on your own property or recommending the customer put ice on their crabgrass. Maybe someone has invented a freeze blaster! I’m just curious to know if anyone has tried to freeze it?
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Nope. Even if it did work, how would you keep the "freeze" from affecting the turf itself?
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If you are going to spray it with a spray it might as well be quinclorac.
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Creative idea MowMoney!
It should work. Suppose you got a tray of ice cubes or a block of ice or a gallon jug of ice from a freezer at minus 10 degrees. Stack it on top of the crabgrass plant--cover with insulation--like an upside down cooler--so it would not melt too soon. Would this kill the crabgrass plant? Would the warmth of the soil preserve the crabgrass?
What if you used dry ice?
Liquid nitrogen?
Suppose you dug up a crabgrass plant and planted it in a plastic pot. Would it survive overnight in your freezer? An hour?
Anybody willing to try it?
It should work. Suppose you got a tray of ice cubes or a block of ice or a gallon jug of ice from a freezer at minus 10 degrees. Stack it on top of the crabgrass plant--cover with insulation--like an upside down cooler--so it would not melt too soon. Would this kill the crabgrass plant? Would the warmth of the soil preserve the crabgrass?
What if you used dry ice?
Liquid nitrogen?
Suppose you dug up a crabgrass plant and planted it in a plastic pot. Would it survive overnight in your freezer? An hour?
Anybody willing to try it?
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Some people do not want chemicals on their lawn. I am curious to know if freezing would be the “organic” approach.
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Crabgrass dies at frost at least partly because it's genetically programmed to die every Fall. As you are thinking, it's also likely not adapted to be able to freeze and still survive. A frost might be simply burning off the top growth, but none will ever grow back because the plant is already super stressed by Fall and colder temps /shorter days generally. It's in its death throes by the time of frost.
Freeze spray is way colder than just freezing. I'd bet even many plants adapted to freezing temps would likely die if shot with freeze spray. Only way to find out would be try it. A can of freeze spray isn't expensive.
If it works, a several gallon tank of liquid carbon dioxide doesn't cost that much either. Get a tank with a dip tube and a valve on a high pressure whip so you can spray the liquid on the plants to kill.
If you can freeze spray the growing point of the plant, It should work just like gly.
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Im guessing it might work, if you had something to apply a freeze spray. Im also guessing it will kill existing cool season turf. Reason being is plants that are cold hardy go through a process as temperatures start to cool which is what makes them survive winters. When you flash freeze them, they wouldn't necessarily be ready for it.
Same way many cold hardy plants die off from a very late spring hard freeze
Same way many cold hardy plants die off from a very late spring hard freeze
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