Q. I think I have yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus) in my lawn. How do I get rid of it? 

A. Yellow nutsedge is a warm-season perennial weed in the sedge family. The leaf blades are grass-like and triangular. It is usually a lighter green than lawn grass.  Nutsedge thrives on moist, poorly drained sites, so it’s important to maintain a dense, healthy lawn and follow proper cultural care procedures such as mowing at the proper height, fall maintenance, and overseeding when necessary. If there are only a few yellow nutsedges present, you can manually pull them. Approximately six to eight weeks after emerging, the plants develop tubers or nutlets, so it’s important to pull them when they are young. After the nutlets develop, hand pulling will not remove the entire plant from the soil. Check back in a few weeks to see if the plants have regrown. When possible, dig out the entire plant removing the root system so it will not regrow from remaining roots. Yellow nutsedge can also be controlled using herbicides. Please call Plant Information Service at (847) 835-0972 for chemical recommendations or for more information.

Please contact Plant Information Service at (847) 835-0972 or Click here to show mail address for more detailed information.

Photo: Yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus) by Blahedo [CC BY-SA 2.5], from Wikimedia Commons