If you see this weed in your yard, don’t pull it up! This is nutsedge, also known as nuts grass. Despite its name, the bulbs on the end of the weed aren’t nuts, but small tubers. Nutsedge is notoriously hard to prevent, because it spreads underground through connecting tubers and can regrow from them. These tubers can grow as deep as 14 inches under the soil. Because of this, pre-emergent herbicides don’t work well on nutsedge.
The reason not to pull up nutsedge from your yard, is because it’s hard to pull the entire weed out, and you’ll usually end up just pulling the blade up, leaving the nut underground. Doing this will just stress the weed out, and trigger it to generate more nuts (tubers) underground, spreading it faster.
So what do I do? You can prevent nutsedge by mowing to the proper height for your grass, making sure it gets 1/2″ of water per week, fertilizing at recommended times, and avoiding compaction. Excess water due to overwatering or drainage issues can also cause nutsedge.
We hope this helps! If you have any questions, let us know.
