Nutsedge?????

I fear that's what it is. Tubers too deep for me, 8 to 14 inches. Roundup. How do you roundup that stuff right in the middle of my plants? Even roundup won't get it all now if I could isolate it. I don't think it's wild garlic, and I suspect many google images are not id'ed correctly.

It's a losing battle pulling it even though it does pull fairly easily IF you can isolate it and get a good grip on it, but it will be right back.

What nasty stuff, must have come in on something like I'm thinking the lilies weren't clean or the soil, seed starter I ws'ed with or even in some seeds, lots of ways to get nasty things. Guys who do my lawn, etc., could bring stuff in on their equipment. That's the problem, try to make things better with topsoil, bags of stuff, get stuff you never had before along with the battle of what you did have before. I think I'm finally rid of that particularly nasty clover and some plant I never saw before, didn't get a photo for an id, encroaching on the garden, used roundup painted on for some of it, 24d or weed 'n feed took care of a lot that got in the lawn.

You don't want 24d or weed 'n feed to get onto your garden plants. So I recommend a high quality spreader or hand spread it around beds but not in them. Or put up shields. Or don't use it at all like some. I would never have gotten rid of that clover and it was a round dark green ovoid smooth edged stuff that looked like it had runners, never had anything like it before.

Thanks, at least it's good to know what I'm dealing with. If I apply a pre-emergent, I'll have to give up the lilies, too, probably. At least the isolated patches that haven't been around too long, I can dig down and see if I can get deep enough.

So far it's just in the back yard and behind the garage. Rhizomes. Big. Chills down my spine lol.

If you keep pulling it out, it'll eventually give up. Yeah, right. I will not be able to pull every bit of it, it's spread around too many places but still certain spots and others clean so far.

I recognized it immediately. This year I ordered 100 daylily for a new flower bed and nutsedge rode it with them. I go "Rambo" on weeds and those little suckers kept me busy. Thank goodness it has not spread to other beds.

Best wishes!

Have you considered the glove of death?

Livsauniteschel - I would if I knew what it was!

Dorothy (Meadows)

"Have you considered the glove of death?" That's always a consideration, but you can see from my photos how hard it would be to isolate from the lily, iris and other foliage and so much of it. I'd be sure to get at least a little on the lily leaves and if not seriously damage the whole plant, dead areas. That stuff is rough. I'll try it next time I have a fresh batch of RU mixed up, hate to work with that stuff. Never hurts to try.

I wish I'd bought the pre-mixed RU, didn't know any better.

And I just thought of something and may come up with a better strategy if I don't hurry it too much. The lilies weren't that expensive except don't want to lose Rozanne. Why not wait until mid September, and cut all the lily leaves off as close to the ground as I can get individually, and Rozanne even, she seems tough and gets parts weed whacked plus I accidentally pulled a couple strands? I'll have to spare Rozanne this time round, she's prettiest in the fall. Then the hand or hands of death.

I'll bet it came in on Frans Halls, found the tag, save most everything, a bonus lily of course I didn't like or want but stuck it there, and it's kind of grown on me. Ury Winniford (don't like it after all) brought in some, too. meadows, you knew what it was and are lucky you spotted it and can get right on top of it. That doesn't explain the clump behind the garage or in the ditch lilies, but by Frans is where the worst of it started way after I planted another kind a few years ago. I can RU that whole clump of ditch lily and clump of nutsedge only behind the garage.

Thank you for getting me on the right track about this with your helpful and rapid responses even though it wasn't what I wanted to hear lol. But you've made something I thought impossible last night possibly doable with diligence.

Meadows, the glove of death is a cotton glove dipped in round up, then slipped on your hand over top a nitrile glove (to protect your skin)As long as the glove is just wet and not dripping, you can slip it in and paint the leaves of the bad plants leaving your good plants mostly untouched.

I've been out doing a couple chores and when done always stop and pull some weeds (mostly some grass, this nutsedge, oxalis, sundry others, plantain and dandelions need to be dug, and tree seedlings will definitely need shovel and/or RU). Trees unless just sprouted won't pull up by the roots. If I'm patient, I may be able to eventually get rid of the nutsedge and have it nice again. I've got this stuff, should have taken a photo of it, it's kind of pretty but definitely a weed and invasive, pointy leaves, narrow pink flowers about an inch, and had so much of it I can't believe it. If it was a flower, it's make a nice ground cover, edging or trail. But it's not.

Thought the beetles were done but squished about 5 with my fingers that were in rose blooms.

f you can get several shoots from the same group, it pulls easily with roots even as dry as it's been; otherwise it breaks which gains you nothing. So I'll Just keep doing that and if it's done something deeper underground, it should be more evident in the spring. I don't think I've let it go to seed, don't know what the seedheads look like, and this is year 2 for it. But this should be the time of year to form seeds so I'm against the clock.

I feel better about things tonight. Can't get as much done as I want but it's surprising if you keep at it, how much you can just pull without vinegar or chemicals if you keep at it one day at a time.

Notification some seeds are one the way from ST. Yay! Thanks for the specifics about the glove thing; I'll have to get some of those special gloves and cotton ones. They must be better than latex or those heavier kitchen ones.

Hi Alice, could you cut them all down,then lay down some newspaper,and cardboard to kill it off over the winter?Not sure what nutsedge is, I am fighting the battle of Goose Neck,gurrrrrrrrrrr,nasy,Nasty,NASTY,plant.
cAROL

Hi cAROL, you've got a nasty, too. Don't know what that is. It sure is a constant battle if you want things nice. Your gooseneck may not be the same as I saw on the competitor's site; that has pretty white flowers like a bottlebrush but tips pointy and curve down. But there is a gooseneck loosestrife, may or not be the same thing. Too much of anything is not good.

Loosestrife is very invasive here and banned in some states. I find it pretty but since finding that out, won't let it take hold anywhere, had one clump of it but petered out, just as well.

The problem with your fix is if I try to smother, I'll smother the good stuff, too. Where it's isolated, I can smother, but so much of it is mixed right in with my plants and even roses. I could dig up the iris; it hasn't flourished there, and the rose shovel prune kinda hate to do it, climbing Jeanne Lajoie but lost the arbor and canes not winter hardy enough to make much of a display.

I'll keep trying to hand pull it for now. Cutting down the lily leaves is too tedious. I have made headway with it. Will see where I am come spring. I'm sure some will be back. As thick as it got in the lawn space which has now been mowed down for good, that makes me wonder how it spread so fast in one year which makes me think maybe it's made tubers and will be a chronic problem there because I didn't know what it was or how bad it was.

We got 1-1/2 inches rain. Badly needed. Too late for some of my plants but still nice for fall digging and planting out and we just needed it.