Is this nutsedge?

[southern-ct-4]

A few weeks ago this stuff started popping up. It grows super fast and is lighter green. Within 1-2 days of mowing my TTTF/KBG/PR lawn (at 4"), this stuff is nearly an inch taller.

Thanks for any thoughts!

[dan10]

Are the stems triangular ? Nutsedge has triangle stems.

[PSU4ME]

yeah you'll need to pull out a root stem and look for the triangular stem......seeing the root could also help ID it. I've pulled so much out lately (so unsightly) but i've moved to using tenacity on it......works great.

[southern-ct-4]

yeah you'll need to pull out a root stem and look for the triangular stem......seeing the root could also help ID it. I've pulled so much out lately (so unsightly) but i've moved to using tenacity on it......works great.

I didn't realize that tenacity worked on nutsedge. Is it better/similar to using Sedgehammer?

Also, here are some more pics, not quite sure it's got a triangular stem. Could this just be more poa triv (which I have elsewhere, but right now isn't growing that tall like this stuff us).

[ken-n-nancy]

From your description, it sounds to me like it may be nutsedge. I get new sprouts of these in my lawn, too. If they are new sprouts and they're sparse enough, then it can be managed by hand-pulling. Young nutsedge plants pull out quite easily if you grab the plant low on the stem and pull with steady, gentle pressure, as young plants aren't deeply rooted. I pull them as I mow the lawn - looking for them in the "next path" that I'll be mowing and pulling them out as I go. They're easy to spot as they grow faster than the desirable grasses, so they'll stick up above the lawn right before you mow. It is critical to get the root when hand-pulling, or they will just come back.

Established patches of nutsedge are more difficult to eliminate, as they spread by underground "nutlets" and will have many underground tubers which will come up again, and again, and again...

The definitive way to identify nutsedge is the triangular stem, just above the roots and before the leaves all separate from the stem. You can feel this by rolling the stem in your fingers or by cutting a cross-section of the stem. See the photo below for a cut cross-section of the stem. (Photo from the nutsedge page at Michigan State University: https://www.canr.msu.edu/resources/yellow_nutsedge)


I'd suggest management by hand-pulling before mowing (make sure to do it every time, though -- letting these persist long enough to get fully mature will make a lot more work in the long run) for what looks like just a few here and there in your lawn.

If you have a real invasion, there are specialty nutsedge herbicides, generally with sulfentrazone as the active ingredient (e.g. Bonide "Sedge Ender") but I've personally had trouble with turf injury when using sulfentrazone, presumably due to unintentional overapplication when spot-spraying.

[glenforest]

No, not nutsedge

[ken-n-nancy]

When I made my earlier posting, I was only able to read the description, not look at the picture. Now, looking at the pictures, I don't see anything in the photos that is clearly nutsedge. I'm not good at identifying most grasses so I don't know what it is, but I'm sure that's not nutsedge.

[PSU4ME]

Agreed, not nutsedge.

This is my nutsedge:

[southern-ct-4]

Thanks all. Doesn't sound like it is nutsedge after all. I don't think it's poa triv, but maybe it is?