Do You Have This in YOUR Lawn??

  Yellow Nutsedge.  There, I said it.  I know I shared with you a month or two ago about this topic, but I think it is worth going over again.  With the droughty couple of weeks we had (killing your cool season fescues), followed by rain, nutsedge is taking hold in many lawns right now.  If you have an irrigation system, and you have a low spot in your yard, that is probably the first place you will see it.     Nutsedge is a great indicator of poor drainage, over watering or leaky irrigation, as it thrives in waterlogged soil.
     To identify this pest, the first thing you will notice is it is more yellow than your fescues or Bermuda grasses.  It comes up with leaves of three, and has a triangular cross-section.  It grows faster than turf grasses so it will be a taller area of your lawn, often growing twice as tall within a week.
     If you can, hand pull small plants before they have 6 leaves.  By the time they have 6 leaves, they are already spreading underground.  If you have a bad infestation, nutsedge will kill out your turf, allowing weeds, and common Bermuda to take over your lawn.  Chemical control is successful using SedgeHammer herbicide.  This will knock out nutsedge without injury to turfgrass, established ornamentals, shrubs, and/or trees.  SedgeHammer provides post-emergence control of both purple and yellow nutsedge.  SedgeHammer also controls many broadleaf weeds and suppresses kyllinga.  It should be applied by licensed chemical applicators.  Check with your landscaper to see that they have a applicators license from the VA Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services, then ask them about treating your nutsedge.

Mark Griffith is a Virginia Certified Horticulturist and a lead designer with Nautilus Garden Designs in Hampton Roads www.nautilusgardendesigns.com