nut grass control

If you don’t have nut grass consider yourself lucky. It is becoming one of the worst garden weeds. If you don’t recognize it is is a bright green sedge with very upright pointy leaves. As the plant develops it starts sending out runners and then creates tubers or “NUTS” under ground. These nuts store nutrients and keep sprouting until they run out of food.

This last is the key to nut grass control. You have to keep them down until every nut is exhausted. At some point they get weaker and thinner and often people quit controlling them. Then they discover, in about a month, the nut grass is back as heavy as before.

The method you use is not as important as keeping the shoots out. The low tech control is just hand weeding. At home I have a juniper bed that I removed. Removing the junipers exposed soil with nut grass. Because it is near the driveway I can see the nut grass daily and every time I get into or out of the car I look for nut grass shouts. I started this spring and it is almost gone. Having said that I expect to have to keep on it through fall and even maybe next spring.

A few years ago a couple of new products came out that are supposed to control the nuts. We are using them on somne areas of nut grass in the nursery. The products are called “Manage” and “Nutgrass’nihlator”. There are two forms of nut grass: Purple nut grass and yellow nut grass. Yellow is the most common here and they both work on yellow nut sedge and not on purple nut sedge. We will be able to give you a report on how they did later this summer.

An older product that works is called “ Weed Hoe”. This will kill nut grass in a lawn environment if applied correctly. Application rate is important but it can be useful in controlling nut grass in lawns.

Remember though you aren’t finished until the very last shoot is gone!!