Nutsedge – Why Can’t I Keep It Out Of My Lawn?
Nutsedge is terrible news when it crops up in your lawn. Usually, it looks a lot like grass, but don’t be fooled. This is an invasive weed that’s hard to control. It muscles in on your lawn, taking over and creating chaos. If you live in Texas, then your lawn is prone to nutsedge. Be on the lookout, and call the pros if you want to learn how to control this problem.
Sedge weeds come in many varieties. Determining precisely which one is invading your lawn is essential if you want to get a handle on the situation. Yellow nutsedge is the most common variety found in Texas lawns. Sometimes called nutgrass or just sedge, this perennial weed looks a good deal like grass. It seeks the moist areas of your lawn that are poorly drained. When the weather turns hot, nutsedge grows faster than your grass, making it stick out like a sore thumb.
Nutsedge is identifiable by its yellow-green leaves. Also, it grows faster than some bermuda grass varieties so it may be higher than the grass between mowings. If left to grow uncontrolled, it will develop a spiky head that may be yellow or purple. Sedge weeds are especially challenging to control because they grow from tiny tubers, which are often called nutlets. These nutlets form on roots that are between eight and 14 inches below the surface of the soil. Accordingly, even if you can pull out sedge by the roots, you will leave nutlets behind to begin the growing process all over again.
Setting your lawn mower blades to a higher setting can help keep nutsedge from taking root. This makes your grass healthier and enables it to simply crowd out sedge before it gets started. It’s possible to make it even harder for sedge to get established by regularly feeding your lawn with a well-balanced fertilizer. Sometimes, these cultural changes are enough to bring a sedge weed problem under control.
However, sometimes the problem is just too widespread to be handled by these measures. When this is the case, it is advisable to call in the experts who have access to the right herbicides that are designed for sedge weed control. It’s vital to understand that not every commercially available weed-control product will be active against sedge weeds. It’s best to leave these problems to the professionals.
If you are dealing with sedge in your Keller, Euless, Grapevine, Arlington, or Bedford lawn, then give us a call.