When we have record-breaking weather in North Texas we usually find that a few things really like the conditions. This year it is nutsedge which must love the flooding rains in late spring because we’re seeing a bumper crop of it in lawns this year. It is so prolific that our phones have rung with people asking what it is and how to they get rid of it. Perhaps you’ve seen some in your lawn this year?
Nutsedge is a dark-green leafed weed that looks a lot like grass that is sticking straight up. But nutsedge isn’t a grass even though it can be mistaken for a grassy weed. This often confuses people because they treat it with a grassy weed product which does nothing. If you look closely at, or feel nutsedge, you’ll notice the leaf isn’t flat, its triangular – that’s what makes it different from a grassy weeds, grassy weeds have flat bladed leaves. Nutsedge grows remarkably fast after it’s been cut, making it especially annoying to home owners.
How to you get rid of nutsedge? First, and this is very important! Don’t pull nutsedge. Most of the time pulling nutsedge doesn’t work because it has two nuts attached to the roots. You can pull up the first one but if you don’t get the second one, and in our North Texas clay soil you almost never get it, you usually end up with it splitting and getting even more nutsedge. In fact, nutsedge reminds me of the stories of fisherman who tried to get rid of starfish by cutting them up and throwing them back in the sea. What happens when you cut up starfish? The pieces each turn into a starfish and you end up with a lot more starfish. That’s pretty much what happens when you pull nutsedge in our area.
If you can’t pull nutsedge (and grassy weed killer doesn’t work) what do you do? You still have to kill it, right? Actually wrong. There is no product that will actually kill nutsedge. They will turn it brown and stunt it but most of it will come back next year. If you’re treating on your own, you can find a product called Image which can be used both in your lawn and your landscape. Image is very slow and will need at least a couple of treatments but it is effective in stunting the nutsedge.
At Village Green we treat our customers lawns with a product not available in nurseries called Halosulfuron. It can only be used in lawns but it works much more quickly than Image. It won’t kill the nutsedge but the product stunts it so the next time you cut the lawn, it won’t pop back up above the grass which is the thing that makes nutsedge so annoying. I call it a magic trick – Village Green can make it disappear for a year but eventually the magic wears off and it will come back.
So the bad news nutsedge is definitely going nuts this year. The good news is if it is driving you nuts, Village Green can make it go away (for a while.)
If you have questions or need help, give us a call at 972-495-6990 or email me at [email protected]. If you haven’t already, please download and follow the free Village Green Watering Guide to make sure you are watering your lawn and landscape properly this summer.