Nutsedge: Causes And How We Can Treat It
As a homeowner with a maintained lawn, you may have heard of something called Nutsedge. Sometimes referred to as sedgegrass, nutgrass, or watergrass, this undesirable plant that tends to grow in wet areas is troublesome to many home lawns. Also, nutsedge is not a grass or a broadleaf weed, it is in the sedge family. This perennial plant grows from nutlets and rhizomes in the soil, that can remain there for many seasons. Throughout this blog we will dive deeper into identifying and treating the unsightly plant.
Identify Whether You Have A Nutsedge Problem
The biggest problem with nutsedge is that you dont always realize you have it right away. Because this grassy weed blends into the rest of your yard so well, you often need to know what youre looking for and be actively looking for it, before you identify the problem.
Look for patches that appear out of place, usually spots of grass that are a slightly lighter color than healthier clusters in your lawn.If you identify an area you believe is nutsedge, check the number of blades sprouting from the stems first. Normal grass rhizomes, or stems, produce two leaves out of one shoot.
Nutsedge rhizomes produce three blades. For a closer inspection, tear off the stem and examine the shape and interior. Normal grass rhizomes are round and hollow, while nutgrass has a triangular stem with a solid interior. If the plant in your hand checks all the nutsedge boxes, its time to move onto the removal process.
Choosing A Lawn Weed Service In Memphis Tn Or Northern Ms
We understand what a major frustration weeds like nutsedge can be. Thats why its so important that you choose a company who can implement effective control solutions not only for nutsedge, but all of the weeds your lawn may be dealing with. While there are plenty of people who might assume that a singular approach to weed control will do the trick, the fact is, it takes a customized effort to be most effective.The truth is, there are so many different types of weeds that we deal with in this region. Thats why you need to be working with a lawn service that can address them all. This includes using specialty products when needed.On top of weed control products, you also want a lawn care program that will promote a thick and healthy lawn. This will make a huge difference in beginning to naturally choke out weeds. Since many weeds thrive in conditions where healthy turf does not , getting your lawn in good shape is a vital step.At the end of the day, your choice in lawn care companies will make a huge difference in your success against weeds. Although we understand that nutsedge might be driving you nuts, you can get it under control and get back to enjoying your lawn to the fullest.Ready to win the battle against pesky lawn weeds like nutsedge? Talk to a lawn care expert, choose from 3 program options, and become the master of your lawn.
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Make A Natural Nutgrass Herbicide
Vinegar is the go-to for killing nutsedge in the lawn and garden and it is an excellent medium for killing poison ivy naturally, as well. It is also ideal as a natural dandelion spray and its use for eradicating many other weeds is virtually unmatched.
Use vinegar that contains up to 20% acetic acid concentration to kill the weeds effectively. You cant get any better natural weed killer with vinegar than this simple solution.
- Lawnmower
Nutsedge thrives in damp areas, so the first step in preventing it from growing in your yard is to make sure that your lawn has proper drainage. Grassroots also need aeration to ensure that nutrients and water can get into the soil. Aerate your yard once a year to maintain its health.
Another step to take is to ensure that you mow your lawn correctly. Grass that is cut too short or cut with dull mower blades can burn in the sun, which leads to unhealthy grass.
Make sure that your lawnmower blades are sharp and that you cut the cool-season grass to two and a half inches, removing only the top third of the grass blade. Established lawns need approximately one to two inches of water per week.
During the dry season, maintain the grass by using a sprinkler or garden hose. Sprinkle grass seed into areas that are thin or bare to prevent weed seeds from easy access to the soil. Using a lawn fertilizer is also an excellent measure to take to ensure a healthy lawn.
Removing Nutsedge By Hand
To successfully get rid of nutsedge by hand you have to remove the plant including all of the roots, tubers, rhizomes, and bulbs. These are found in the top 12-18 inches of the soil.
To do this youll have to dig with a trowel next to the nutsedge plant. Once youve dug around the plant and loosened it in the soil, you can gently pull it out, taking care not to break off roots and leave them behind.
After the plant and root system is removed, continue to dig out any leftover roots you can see in the soil. And throw everything you remove in the trash.
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Improve The Soil To Kill Nutsedge
If your lawn, like many lawns, has low quality, unamended soil, aerate the turf to improve soil drainage. Fill the holes with compost. Next, amend the soil with additional compost to improve overall soil quality. Try applying corn gluten meal to the lawn in the spring . The corn gluten meal treatment will help keep your grass thick and prevent the nutsedge seeds from germinating. In addition, you can improve the soil and lawn by watering judiciously. Do NOT overwater if you are trying to kill nutsedge.
Prevent Future Weeds From Growing
After you finally get rid of all the weeds in your lawn, take precautions to keep new plants from forming. Applying a pre-emergent herbicide to your lawn treats the soil to much-needed nutrients, while also preventing any root stems you missed when pulling from germinating.
Mowing your lawn at a higher height also strengthens it, providing it with a stronger defense against any new weeds. Mulch is another beneficial option that works under most circumstances, though stronger nutsedge continues to grow even after mulching.
Poor drainage is another significant contributor in allowing nutsedge access to your yard. Nutgrass thrives in wet soil, meaning if you dont have the proper irrigation systems in your yard, you leave it a prime candidate for nutsedge growth.
Maintaining the moisture levels in your yard is an excellent way to prevent future outbreaks of nutsedge, while also providing your yard with much-needed lawn care.
Now you have a few new ideas for getting rid of nutgrass, as well as a full-proof plan to remove this invasive weed from your yard. The most critical part of removing any weed is to use caution when uprooting the plant that way, it doesnt spread to other parts of the lawn. Also, use preventative measures to keep your yard weed-free year after year.
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What We Have Learned About Vexis
The results speak for themselves. We have conducted research plots, asked for feedback from our customers, and found Vexis highly effective against nutgrass. However, Vexis has shown to be slower at turning the nutgrass plant brown, but it will stop the nutgrass from outgrowing your turf grass almost immediately. So you wont see the tops of nutgrass pushing above your grass the day after you mowed. Our user experience shows it can take as much as a month to turn the plant brown and fade away.
Vexis is a granule and available in a convenient 2-pound shaker can or 15-pound bag. Shake it over the spots of nutgrass in your lawn and water it in. Vexis requires no mixing, no messes, and no worry about leftover mix in your sprayer. In addition, the granular formulation reduces the potential for drift.
Where Does Nutsedge Grow
Sedge Weeds grow best in moist conditions that often result or occur from poor drainage, over-watering or excess rainfall. However, they also grow in dry, well-drained areas if the competition from other grasses is limited.
FUN FACT: Typically found in more temperate climates, these perennial sedge weeds sprout after the last frost and remain noticeable throughout the summer.
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How To Control Nutsedge In Your Lawn
There is no perfect organic method for killing Nutsedge in your lawn, other than pulling them very carefully when they’re just starting to sprout in the Spring. Do this when the soil is moist and you can work to get the entire root including the little nutlet . If you don’t get the entire root, the Nutsedge will continuously return. However, if you can pull a majority of it effectively, and have healthy strong competitive grasses that you mow nice and high, pulling is one place to start.
What Is Nutsedge Or Nutgrass
Nutsedge is a perennial sedge weed that tends to grow in moist areas of the lawn. Its particularly troublesome due to its persistent nature. In warm conditions, such as here in Memphis, TN, it can grow quite rapidly.Nutsedge spreads via rhizomes and/or tubers underground, which are sometimes referred to as nutlets, hence its name. This weed is best identified by its bright green color and the fact that it grows as much as five times faster than the healthy grass in your lawn. If all of your turf is level and youve got some bright green grass-like weeds sticking out, theres a good chance that its nutsedge.We do find that homeowners sometimes misidentify another weedy sedge, kyllinga, as being nutsedge. Kyllinga tends to grow in dense mats and has a finer leaf texture. Its also shorter growing than other sedges.
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How To Kill Nutsedge
There is no great organic control for killing nutsedge in your lawn other than pulling them very carefully when theyre just starting to sprout in the spring. Do this when the soil is moist and you can work to get the entire root including the little nutlet youll know it when you see it. If you dont get the entire root parts, the nutsedge will continue to return. But, if you can pull a majority of it effectively, and have healthy strong competitive grasses that you mow nice and high, pulling is one place to start.
Just like the dandelion, we strongly urge customers to not pull this weed! Because Nutsedge has a very delicate root structure that can break at the slightest pull the root structures are left in the soil and will regenerate a new plant very quickly, making the problem get worse. In fact, we recommend that customers leave the plant and let it get tall enough to be sprayed with an herbicide, the more leaf material the technician can spray, means that much more of the herbicide will be taken in by the Nutsedge plant.
Other Ways To Control Nutgrass
You can dig up small nutgrass patches successfully. In the early spring, dig in at least 10 inches at minimum and then 8 to 10 inches out around the diameter of the nutgrass clump. Do this in the summer and fall, and, as a reminder, clean off your digging equipment when finished.
Using regular black polyethylene plastic mulch doesn’t prevent nutsedge, but polypropylene landscape fabrics can suppress the weeds from growing. These fabrics are also air and water permeable. After removing any existing nutgrass, put down this layer as a protective measure before you plant your new lawn or garden. Then cover the nonwoven landscape fabric with gravel or bark mulch.
Since nutgrass dislikes shaded areas, you can relocate your garden beds to areas that receive less sun. Then, replant them with shrubs or ground cover. Another possible solution: Stop watering the lawn in the areas in which the nutgrass is thriving. Allow it to dry, and till the soil frequently to help it air out. If this works, the sun will dry out the tubers, and the nutgrass will die. However, following this procedure can be difficult to do in areas where the grass and other plants need water.
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What To Do If I Have Nutsedge
- Nutsedge is most problematic in lawns that have poor drainage or stay wet too long. This could be from overwatering with a sprinkler system, a lot of rain, or a combination of both. The best way to minimize nutsedge is to grow and maintain dense and healthy turf to outcompete nutsedge for space, food, and moisture.Low spots in the lawn that hold water also contribute to the proliferation of nutsedge. If you have drainage issues where water is pooling and is not running off or percolating into the soil, you may need to install drains or regrade the soil on the property. This will help move the water along, so it doesnt sit causing the soil to remain wet for long periods of time. Additionally, you may want to rethink your watering schedule and timing in those zones, if you dont want to regrade or add drainage.
For information about cultural practices that may help with nutsedge control, you can read our blogs about each topic.
- Best Mowing Practices
How To Get Rid Of Nut Grass
How to get rid of nut grass
Nut grass can be a stubborn pest, but there are a few ways to get rid of it from a lawn:
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Using sugar
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Weedkiller
No matter what type of turf you’ve got in your garden, or where you stand on the kikuyu grass vs buffalo grass debate, there’s one type of grass you don’t want in your garden: nut grass.
If you see signs of nut grass in your lawn, it’s best to remove it as quickly as possible.
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What Is Nut Grass
The key to getting rid of nut grass is being able to identify different types of grass and realise why we want to get rid of it.
So what is nut grass? Nut grass tends to grow in small clumps that have tall stems, up to 50cm in some cases. Each stem can grow up to eight red-ish coloured branches which grow a flurry of seeds. Left to their own devices, nut grass can quickly seed and multiply.
Nut grass grows best in very healthy soil with good levels of sunshine.
Because of their complex root system, once nut grass has taken hold it can be hard to completely remove. Even if you think you’ve got rid of it, it’s been found that its seeds can lay dormant for up to 10 years. It’s because of this that some people call it ‘the world’s worst weed’. If you see something that looks like nut grass, or that doesn’t look like the grass in the rest of your lawn, it’s a good idea to pull it out immediately.
What Is Nutsedge And How Do You Treat It
Every homeowner dreams of having the perfect yard. For some, especially those in arid climates, xeriscaping is the preferred yard style, with colored rocks, vegetation that requires minimal water or no vegetation. Xeriscaping is low maintenance and easy to manage. You only have to keep an eye out for the occasional weed.
For most other homeowners, though, the ideal yard is a landscaped one. With vibrant and lush green grass and gardens scattered throughout, landscaped yards have their own set of maintenance requirements. You will need to water the grass and plants almost daily, and you will have to remove most weeds and insects infestations. Although the amount of work is much greater with landscaped yards, the results are well worth the effort.
Weeds are one of the worst plants to easily and quickly remove a yard of its nutrients and water. They are hardy plants that survive by taking away from the other plants. Usually, you can remove most weeds and unwanted plants with a store-bought herbicide.
One type of weed that you may notice in your yards and gardens is sedge weeds. These plants are not like the traditional weed grasses or broadleaf weeds. Sedges come back every year if not removed properly, and they reproduce in complicated ways.
What is Nutsedge?
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A Complete Guide To Nutsedge
Nutsedge is a summer perennial weed that can be extremely difficult to control. Most people think that Nutsedge is an annual weed because it appears to die-off in cooler temperatures. However, nutsedge is actually a perennial weed that has an aggressive root system of tubers and rhizomes below the surface, even when there is no visible leaf tissue.
There are yellow nutsedge and purple nutsedge yellow being the most common type. Each sprig of nutsedge can have up to 18 tubers ready to become plants next year. For this incredible spreading to be controlled long term, applications of halosulfuron or sulfentrazone done in late summer/early fall are the best way to lessen the following years crop and eventually eradicate the plant.
Herbicide applications in mid-summer are useful at hurting the plant, however you can get discouraged if you dont eliminate it completely this is because the nutsedge plant grows so fast that its tough to get control all the way down into the roots and other tubers the plant simply outgrows the control products.
Cooler temps in the fall cause the nutsedge plant to slow down top growth and focus on sending all its energy to its tubers for next season before its leaf tissue dies off, and so this is when your control products are also best translocated to the tubers below ground.
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