Lawn care advice from the experts at Fairway Green Identified as a grass-like lawn weed, Nutsedge can be a real problem in many yards and all turf types. With the ability to produce hundreds of tubers, or nutlets, these weeds can spread like wildfire. Before you know it, there will be nutsedge everywhere you look!… Read more »
Identified as a grass-like lawn weed, Nutsedge can be a real problem in many yards and all turf types. With the ability to produce hundreds of tubers, or nutlets, these weeds can spread like wildfire. Before you know it, there will be nutsedge everywhere you look! Though it’s difficult to control with basic lawn care, read on to learn what you need to know about this weed and how you can stay ahead of it.
Nutsedge will have a triangle stem and is easily felt when you twirl a stem between your thumb and forefinger. It is not a broadleaf weed or grassy weed but is in the sedge family. As stated above, each plant can produce hundreds of tubers during its growing season. These tubers will be new plants in the years to come. There are two common types of this weed, yellow and purple.
Yellow Nutsedge will grow much faster than the existing turf and will have a thin shiny appearance. Yellow Nutsedge is a summer perennial that flourishes from April/May to around September/October. It reproduces from tubers (nutlets) under the soil and can spread from rhizomes.
Purple Nutsedge will emerge later in the growing season than yellow and can grow to up to six inches tall. This weed is best identified as dark green in color and can grow a seed head that appears as a small, purple cluster.
Unfortunately, post-emergent broadleaf weed controls for weeds like clover and dandelions will not control Nutsedge. It’s a prolific and very difficult weed to control in many lawns and natural areas. There are limited products available for controlling Nutsedge and all of them require frequent applications over multiple years to offer acceptable control.
If you have questions about the identification of Nutsedge in your lawn, feel free to contact your friends over at Fairway Green. Our knowledgeable team is well versed in lawn care and can help get your yard looking like what you’ve always imagined. We hope to speak with you soon!