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gardenfanatic2003

Is there anything that permanently kills nutsedge?

gardenfanatic2003
12 years ago

I've been fighting nutsedge for nearly 10 years now. I started with pulling, and when that didn't work, I started spraying Sedgehammer (formerly Manage). The nutsedge would die from the Sedgehammer, but come back. I've even tried spraying twice - once in June, and again in August. It still comes back the following year, just as strong as ever.

Obviously, Sedgehammer kills the top growth, but not the root, or it wouldn't keep coming back. Is there anything that will actually kill nutsedge permanently, down to the root?

Deanna

Comments (37)

  • schreibdave
    12 years ago

    I havent tried it personally, but Tenacity is labeled for yellow nutsedge. It also seems to be effective against many weeds that it's not even labeled for. It's about $50 at Lesco.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Tenacity

  • tiemco
    12 years ago

    In addition to Tenacity, you could also try this product which is available at Home Depot and is a bit cheaper: http://www.scotts.com/smg/catalog/productTemplate.jsp?proId=prod10550011&itemId=cat50064&tabs=general
    There is also a herbicide called Sedgehammer that is supposed to work well, but I think you would have to buy it online or at a place like Lesco: http://www.gowanco.com/ProductInfo~pid~76~SedgeHammer%20.aspx

  • botanicalbill
    12 years ago

    sedgehammer and image both kill nutsedge. It works by binding at growth sites and stop it from growing. This is in the grass part and the root. So it kills the plant, root and all. What is probably happening is you are not using per-emergent and a few of the millions of seeds in your lawn keep sprouting, and growing.
    Thats my guess.

  • garycinchicago
    12 years ago

    >"I started spraying Sedgehammer (formerly Manage). The nutsedge would die from the Sedgehammer, but come back. I've even tried spraying twice - once in June, and again in August. It still comes back the following year, just as strong as ever."

    Did you read the label? Did you read the instructions carefully?

    Let's then assume that you did and used the recommended surfactant and also didn't allow the mixed product to sit more than 12 hours, when you applied again in August. Then it should have worked fine, killing the bulbets and all.

    But that is only *IF* you had correctly ID'd the weed as 100% proof positive nutsedge and not just assumed/guessed it was nutsedge.

  • Big_Papi
    12 years ago

    What is your frequency of watering? How much and how often?

  • gardenfanatic2003
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    I never water. In late summer, drought conditions will cause the grass to be brown and dead, but the nutsedge is still happily growing. It's an aggravation. And once again, the nutsedge is now starting to grow.

    And yes garyinchicago, it is nutsedge. Yes, I used surfactant and sprayed as soon as I mixed it.

    Deanna

  • Big_Papi
    12 years ago

    Then Gary is right.....it ain't nutsedge, Sedgehammer isn't being applied at the recommended rate or whatever surfactant your using isn't getting the job done.

    When used correctly, the success rate for Sedgehammer is high.

  • nearandwest
    12 years ago

    Is it possible that the weed you are trying to control is actually Green Kyllinga?

  • botanicalbill
    12 years ago

    I use sedgehammer that is 7 years old. still kills the the stuff with one scoop per gallon of water.
    I let the sedge grow high. I mist it with sedgehammer. I make sure I mist it till I see a drop or two roll down the leaf to the crown of the plant. A day later it stops growing. About a week later it starts to yellow. I then mow and wait a few days to see what is growing, incase I missed a few.

  • Big_Papi
    12 years ago

    Near....You're probably right.

  • dchall_san_antonio
    12 years ago

    Green kyllinga is growing against my neighbor's house next to my driveway. It has never been watered, ever, and survives our roughest droughts. Quite an amazing plant. Where nutgrass does not survive, this stuff has a modest foothold. At first glance it looks much like nutgrass on steroids. Then you see the flower and realize it is a different plant.

  • botanicalbill
    12 years ago

    It has the white puffy heads, right? Sedgehammer wipes it out. I had a 5 foot by about 7 foot section of this stuff. One spray with sedgehammer and two weeks, it was gone. Its a type of sedge, one of hundreds of types.

  • nycjsw
    12 years ago

    I agree with the above posters. I used Prosedge (about $90 for 1.33 OZ) which is the same thing as Sedgehammer. I was shocked at how well it worked. It killed the Nutsedge within a week. It stopped growing a few days after spraying it. I used 2 gallons to get all the areas of my lawn that had Nutsedge. What I bought can make 40 gallons. So I'm good for a while. As others have noted you might have seeds in your turf or perhaps you missed some of it when spraying? This stuff drove me crazy. I would mow my lawn and 24 hours later the Nutsedge was already a few inches higher than the grass. I expected a bigger fight but this Prosedge knocks it out. It also did not do any harm to my grass and I sprayed when it was in the mid 90s (

  • eline65
    10 years ago

    I think one thing that isn't clearly stated, at least in its entirety from what I can gather, is that the frequency is what's at the heart of controlling the dreaded sedge. Because the tubers grow underground, and on a fairly mature plant, no longer need energy from that emerged parent you just sprayed, a follow-up treatment is a must, maybe even two or three to thoroughly get rid of the spawn of the garden devil.

    Killing the nutsedge that grows above the ground when tubers have already started (from what I read is about, or just before they grow 5 leaves or so) will not stop the tubers that have already started in that single treatment. The nut is now developed and no longer feeds off of that shoot. The tubers will continue to use whatever remaining energy it can muster and find the sun to reap more havoc. And itâÂÂs true, as pointed out before, stopping the water doesn't get rid of it, only slows it. Drying out the ground only makes the nut go dormant! Even a couple years after you have been boasting all last year of your so-called success, a good hearty soaking and those forgotten nuts things will spring forth as they did in my lawn with a big fat middle finger!

    I am of the belief that you give the turf a good once-over with a good selective herbicide for the whole lawn, or control area. Then two weeks or so later, start spot treating the new tubers that will spring up. But don't wait to wait too long, if the new ones get too much energy from basking in the sun it just found, it too will create new tubers and you are back at the beginning.

    If they have invaded a smaller flowerbed, the time to mix a batch and spray is also the same amount of time it takes to grab that hand shovel you already use weekly, and dig those darn thing up! Dig several inches deep, and a few inches around the sedge shoots to get to the nut, and its tubers. Let the soil sift through your fingers while you search for more tubers and nutlets. You can bag them, or do as I do let them feel the pain of roasting in the Arizona sun on the sidewalk and drying out! Revenge is a dish best served hot & dry! Check the bed again in a few days for a few more weeks, plucking and digging when you see them mockingly return, albeit with about 40% less stored energy. Heck, while you're turning that soil, give it the nutrients and compost it loves and let those lovely wanted plants know you are on their side.

    Here is a link that might be useful: UofA Nutsedge Control in Turf

    This post was edited by eline65 on Fri, Sep 6, 13 at 11:18

  • gsweater
    10 years ago

    When we lived in Orange County, I had a bucket about a quarter full of nutlets I collected from mine and my sister's yard one day (we lived across the street from each other). My son, who was 7 at the time took the bucket across the street to our neighbor's house and dumped it all over their front yard so he and their son could fill the bucket with water.

    My sister still lives across the corner and when I visited her last year (11 years after the incident), the yard where those nuts were dumped is pretty much 100% Nutgrass. Have always wondered if I should tell them... True confession.

  • shortlid
    10 years ago

    I have been fighting it for five years also. Previous owner was ederly and never maintained the lawn. Ortho Nutsledgekiller works but I can't get enough from my local Home Depot to do my whole lawn. Any sugestions.

  • Weedtastic85
    9 years ago

    I have been dealing with and treating yellow nutsedge for years in various areas and various types of grasses. I have found it likes to grow more often in the Bermuda grass. Aerations can help with nutsedge on a year to year basis to provide more oxygen to the soil, but there will never be a full proof way to rid nutsedge on a year to year basis. We tried a new pre emerge that was supposed to help with nutsedge, but from what I have seen it only did so much. The best product is obviously sedgehammer. Usually the best mixture that I feel works best is to use the scoop that comes with it and use just one scoop per 3 gallons of water.

  • morpheuspa (6B/7A, E. PA)
    9 years ago

    This thread arose from the dead. :-)

    I use Prodiamine as a pre-emergent in the gardens (where I get nutsedge) and that helps. Apply in spring before soil temperatures rise, and you can use any pre-emergent you want and is compatible with the plants you're applying it near.

    For post-emergent control, a tiny shot of Tenacity takes nutsedge down in a week. Several rounds are required to control the nutsedge patch as not all the root nutlets are awake when sprayed.

  • njbiology
    9 years ago

    Will Sedgehammer kill wildflowers?

  • morpheuspa (6B/7A, E. PA)
    9 years ago

    >>Will Sedgehammer kill wildflowers?

    Some yes, some no. Check the label for ornamentals and annuals it's safe to use around, if any--sometimes they just blanket ban it under the "better safe than sorry" rule.

    I use Tenacity and can spray thistles in the middle of my asters. However, the aster turns white for a month or so, and I have to be careful not to hit too much of the aster plant or it'll die along with the thistle.

    There's a case where it's a technical "no" that I turned into a "with care."

  • jpd216428
    6 years ago

    Last year I tried TORDON. I cut the nutsedge off a few inches above the soil, and put one or two drops of TORDON on each plant. It has been a little over one year now, and no reemergence. Make sure you only use a drop or two at the most as this could travel to surrounding plants and trees. A few drops is enough to kill a tree when applied to a fresh cut stump.

  • gardenfanatic2003
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    I use Sedgehammer every year, and it kills the part you can see, but comes right back from the roots either later in the year or the next year. I've been doing this for more than 10 years, so obviously Sedgehammer does NOT kill nutsedge.

    In my flower bed I even tried digging it up. It still came back the next year. I HATE NUTSEDGE!!!!

    Deanna

  • gardenfanatic2003
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    jpd216428, check back in a month or two and let us know if the nutsedge has grown back. Did you use concentrate or RTU?

  • gardenfanatic2003
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    What I have isn't green kyllinga. This photo is identical to what comes back every year in my yard.

  • jpd216428
    6 years ago

    I had the same results with sedgehammer, that's why I tried the tordon. So far it's worked great! It comes in a quart squeeze bottle. I think it was about $10. At a drop or two, a quart will go a long way.

  • gardenfanatic2003
    Original Author
    6 years ago
    Unfortunately that can't be used on the lawn.
  • jpd216428
    6 years ago

    I have a really pristine lawn and it did not harm it. Just a very tiny spot around the nutsedge that grew back just fine.

  • jpd216428
    6 years ago

    Tordon is not approved for lawns because it will kill grass, but your not spraying it your only dripping it on the nutgrass not the turf.

  • traviam
    6 years ago

    I was looking at giving Sedgehammer a try and am wondering if the discrepancy between some people raving about it and others seeing zero results, has to do with the product itself. I was going to purchase a packet (because it's much more economical) but noticed that the active ingredient (Halosulfuron-methyl) is only 5%. Whereas, in the 1.33oz bottle it's 75%. The bottle is actually considered a "professional" product, but can be purchased at DMO Pest Control

  • Elaine Fix
    6 years ago

    My husband used sedge hammer for years. It will kill off the top growth for this year but it takes several years of treatment to get rid of it. He now uses TORDON . Just put only a couple drops on the sedge and it has not come back. ONLY A COUPLE DROPS!!!! It comes in a quart bottle premixed with a spout. It is not made for this but it really works.

  • bossyvossy
    6 years ago

    Sledgehammer, expensive and effective for ONE growing season. Sedge thrives in moist locations so if you kill but don't/can't change moisture situation, it will come back with its usual tenacity. The best you can hope is for a weaker crop the next season but again same moisture level, same problem next year.

  • reeljake
    6 years ago

    Sulfentrazone is the active ingredient you want, not that stuff in sedgehammer

  • traviam
    6 years ago

    Can you give us a little more to go on? Are you speaking from experience? What does sulfentrazone do that Sledgehammer doesn't?

    According to the Clemson Extension Office, sulfentrazone only has fair to poor sedge control.

  • reeljake
    6 years ago

    I'm no chemist, but I've had great success with sulfentrazone in my yard killing nutsedge, kyllinga & crabgrass. It comes in several formulations from a few different manufacturers, but I like to use a pump sprayer so my preferred product ends up being sedge ender. It has a prodiamine dose built in to prevent new sprouts in the same spot too, which is nice.

    The nutsedge starts to go yellow within 24 hours & when it finally does come back a few months or a year later, it's already deformed & yellowing. That just makes them easier to see & easier to zap again the second time. There is no one & done treatment for nutsedge, it's a process but sulfentrazone based herbicides are my best weapon

  • C V
    3 years ago

    @gardenfanatic2003 What finally worked? I’ve tried pulling it out, sledgehammer 4xs (2x by a professional and 2xs by self each after 2 weeks of over 90-100 degree weather) , covering it with heavy duty clear plastic for 5 weeks and it persists.

  • dchall_san_antonio
    3 years ago

    C V would you mind opening a new topic in the Lawn Care forum while you're waiting for a reply to this? Please note your location in the post as well as your grass type. My first question to you would be about your watering schedule (frequency and duration).