How to Get Rid of Nutsedge in Your Yard

Nutsedge is widely known for being one of the most aggressive types of weeds that you can find in your Arizona lawn. 

Although it looks like grass, the weed is actually a sedge. You’ll often notice that nutsedge is a brighter yellow-green color compared to the grass in your yard. 

Get Rid of Nutsedge in Your Lawn

This weed also grows faster than grass, which is why you may see it popping above the rest of your lawn a few days after you mow. 

Getting rid of nutsedge requires a concentrated effort to attack the plant after it breaks through the surface of the soil.

Understand Why Nutsedge Is Hard to Control

These plants can send out seeds that turn into brand new sprouts just like other weeds. 

They are also notoriously hard to get rid of because of how they reproduce underground. Nutsedge plants grow long tubers that are known as nutlets. A single plant can produce hundreds to thousands of these little nutlets that turn into new sprouts each year. 

These nutlets can also form many inches below the surface of the soil. This makes them impossible to reach with pre-emergent sprays. Pulling the weeds doesn’t get rid of them because those little nutlets are usually left behind.

Identify Contributing Factors

You’ll first want to take a look at your lawn to see what might be making it easier for the weeds to grow. 

Nutsedge thrives in moist soil and warm temperatures. You’ll often find these plants popping up near places where water drips from leaky faucets. 

You may also find them growing in areas with poor drainage. Reducing how much moisture builds up in the soil can help to slow the emergence of new plants.

Apply a Post-Emergent Spray

Since the nutlets exist deep below the ground’s surface, your best bet is to attack the weeds after they emerge. 

Post-emergent sprays are designed to be absorbed by the plant. They dry out the stems and can travel down to the tubers where it makes them unable to sprout. 

Protect the Desirable Grass

The last thing you want to do is harm the grass in your lawn just to get rid of the nutsedge. Selective sprays are specially formulated to target weeds and not the grass. 

Use caution if you try any type of DIY treatments, since they could harm your lawn. Keeping the grass in your lawn as lush as possible will help choke out nutsedge as it tries to sprout.

Plan on Several Treatments

With some types of weeds, spraying is effective the first time. Nutsedge works a little differently, because new plants may continue to sprout for a few weeks. 

Repeated spraying will kill the new plants in time. Spraying when the plants are young also helps to prevent them from having time to develop so many nutlets. 

We typically recommend spraying for nutsedge in late spring and early summer. If you notice nutsedge in the fall, then it is also good to spray before the plants enter their winter dormancy state.

How to Get Rid of Nutsedge in Your Yard Video

 

You don’t have to move to escape the frustration caused by nutsedge showing up in your lawn! When you apply post-emergent treatments on a regular schedule, you’ll soon see only desirable grasses and plants in your property’s landscaping. 

As you start the process, remember that a weed-free lawn takes time. You should see results after the first treatment, and repeated spraying will eliminate any remaining weeds over the next several weeks.