How to Get Rid of Nutsedge
Nutsedge has become one of the most problematic weeds in home lawns and landscape beds throughout New Jersey, but there are ways to help you get rid of nutsedge on your property.
What is Nutsedge?
Nutsedge, or sometimes called “Nutgrass”, is a perennial weed from the “sedge” family. A “sedge” is a plant that looks like grass but is not a grass at all. A nutsedge plant spreads underground through rhizomes and tubers. Nutsedge survives from one season to the next by producing nutlets, which are small underground bulb-like seeds.The roots and rhizomes can produce several hundred of these nutlets during the active growing months. A nutsedge plant also produces seeds above the soil surface, which can aid in spreading nutsedge even further. Once the region gets its first frost of the season, it dies off on its own; however, the nutlets under the soil survives over the winter and regrow the next year. They have the ability to live under the soil for multiple years at a time. Getting rid of nutgrass or nutsedge may be difficult, but there are ways to help control the weed.
What does Nutsedge look like?
A surefire sign your lawn has nutsedge is that the rapidly growing plant grows faster than the rest of the lawn. During the summer when your lawn is not growing as fast, the taller upright green plant that looks like grass is probably nutsedge. The blades of nutsedge are yellow or light green in color and have a narrow linear folded midrib and the blades have a slick, shiny or waxy appearance. The blades are arranged in groups of three which also distinguishes itself from regular grass types. Nutsedge has a triangle shaped stem that can be felt when rolled between your fingertips. When nutsedge gets tall enough it forms a cluster of seed heads that radiate out from the top of the flower’s stalk.
Nutsedge control
Nutsedge mostly grows in areas of high moisture, which normally include low lying areas of the lawn, poor drainage areas or next to a broken/leaky sprinkler head. Once it is established, it can tolerate normal levels of moisture and thrive throughout the hot dry summer months.
This most common and effective approach to getting rid of nutsedge is with a chemical application; however, there is no preventative treatment available for nutsedge. It can only be controlled by a post-emergent herbicide. The key to controlling nutsedge is to kill off the nutlet with a herbicide product, most control products take about 10-14 days to completely kill off the plant. It is difficult to get rid of nutsedge and it may require multiple treatments.
The main cause of nutsedge is poor soil that holds water for extended periods of time. If the lawn has drainage problems a professional may need to be called in to regrade the property with fresh soil and add drain pipes to redirect the water that sits for long periods of time. Core aeration is also recommended annually to help reduce the soil compaction. Once the compaction is reduced the water is able to infiltrate the soill more effectively.
Cultural controls are a good defense against nutsedge. A thick dense lawn helps to out compete nutsedge and weeds; therefore to encourage a thick lawn, fertilize regularly to promote growth.
Hand weeding is not an option, because pulling out the plants individually leaves part of the root, rhizomes, and nutlets in the ground only to regrow in a few weeks.
The final cultural practice that helps your fight against nutsedge is proper watering. Most irrigation systems are set up 20 minutes per zone every day and this only makes the nutsedge problem worse. Nutsedge loves to be in very moist soil. Watering every day in short spurts keeps your soil moist for longer periods of time causing the nutsedge plants to thrive. Proper watering for underground irrigation is 1 – 1 ½ hours per zone twice per week and for hose-end sprinklers it is 4 hours per zone once per week. Watering for longer periods of time but infrequently helps the water trickle down through the soil and promotes deep root growth.
If you have nutsedge and are located in our service area, give us a call at 908-281-7888 for a free estimate, and we can help you plan the best course of action to get rid of nutsedge in your lawn.