In Bloom

<< Back to Articles

Ask Burton: Q: I have nutsedge growing in my flowerbeds. I would like this problem to go away. Do you have a spray that will fix it for me? I’ve pulled, and pulled, and never successfully gotten rid of it.

Posted on November, 08

A: Nutsedge can be defeated. But you must be persistent!

Right now, it’s already too late in the year for herbicides to be effective in controlling nutsedge. Regardless of what you do right now, you’ll be treating it next spring as well. So, let’s fast-forward a bit until next year. As we warm up in late April, nutsedge will begin to rear its ugly head.

In the turf, applications of Sedgehammer herbicide will do an excellent job of killing nutsedge, but you’re likely to need another treatment a few weeks later to clear the problem up. In flowerbeds, the problem is harder to tackle. Sedgehammer can be used around well-established shrubs and trees (avoiding contact with the leaves of desirable plants) without injury. In newly planted beds, or in areas with flowers or particularly in vegetable beds, the herbicide may not be used.

For those spots, you’ll need a siege mentality. Weed the beds weekly, whether by hand or using a contact herbicide such as Hi-Yield Killzall (glyphosate) carefully to hit only the areas with nutsedge. You’ll weed out or burn the plants down, they’ll pop back up, and rinse and repeat. If you’re diligent, eventually the nutsedge tubers will run out of stored energy and the nutsedge will die. The key to control is staying after it. Give the nutsedge a few weeks to recover, and you’re back at square one.

Regardless of whether you’re treating nutsedge in the lawn or flowerbeds, keep pounding away until the weed is gone. Control is possible!