Identify This Missouri Grass Weed

[Apoptosis]

Once you have nutgrass you will be lucky to get rid of it..

Where I applied the Sedgehammer it has already stopped growing... Where I pulled it by hand and didn't apply the sedgehammer it is back. The stuff really does work. Just have to kill it at the roots. In 2 weeks my yard is night and day different.

[Kaos Kid]

Sadly I have this same problem as well. Pretty soon it will be my main grass, and the turfgrass will all be gone. Oh well, at least it is green so from a distance it looks like I have a lawn, lol

Anybody thought of using goats? I probably couldn't due to our snobby subdivision association here in Ofallon, but perhaps I could sneak a few in after dark and round them up before morning



Edit: after some extensive research I found some sedgekiller called "image" that is much cheaper at HomeDepot. Then I found that SedgeHammer rights had been bought out and the product renamed "ProSedge". I called Baxter Gardens West to pick their brains and they told me that they have had many people in our area (St Charles County and surrounding) come to them complaining that the Image product didn't kill their nutsedge but did burn their lawns so I think that I will pass on that for now. If you can't wait for online orders BGW on Hwy K at Hwy N has 70 BOXES of the .9 Gram packets at $18 per packet and says they go like hotcakes. And here is an interesting little tidbit. The instructions say that you have to add a surfactant to the mix so the killer sticks to the leaves instead of rolling off (due to the waxiness of the leaves) but Baxter Gardens told me that 4-5 drops of dishsoap in the mixture will also work, and saves you the money for the surfactant (around $18 for a jug).

I guess its time to order the stuff you used Nate!

[Kaos Kid]

2011 update


Well I have the ProSedge but didn't get surfactant. Research indicates that not all dish soaps work, only those with nonionic (NOT anionic) properties. I may just breakdown and get a surfactant made expressly for herbicides, but neither Lowes or HomeDepot have any listed on their websites. Anyone in the St Charles County area know where to get the surfactant I need? I also tried looking it up on OrschelnFarmandHome website and surprisingly they didn't have any listed there either.

[Apoptosis]

Joy or Ivory should work.

[Kaos Kid]

Joy or Ivory should work.

What do you use Nate?

[Kaos Kid]

Hmmmmmmm

While digging in my old computer stuff I found a bottle of "Redline Water Wetter" which is advertised as a non-ionic surfactant that is supposed to help even out hot spots in auto cooling systems by reducing water surface tension. I used it in my old watercooling setup when OCing was much more important to me. I wonder if this could be used with the ProSedge, or would it hurt my lawn more than help? The label does have the word "oil" on it but I don't know if the product is fully oil-based or this is just used as a general term. Whaddya think?

ps yeah this may be a dumb question but it doesn't hurt to ask, eh?

[Apoptosis]

might be worth a spot test... not sure if the oil is ideal though...

[Kaos Kid]

Meh, I better not, at least there are some indications that certain dish detergents will work. I still have time to get this resolved, from what I can tell I have to wait until the sedge starts growing its little leaflets before I can treat it anyway, so I'll keep my eyes open for the best (but yet cheapest) surfactant to use. Nate, can you tell if your sedge is coming back this year, or was last years' treatment sufficient? And did it hurt your lawn in any way? I overseeded this year with tall fescue so hopefully it won't hurt mine.

[Apoptosis]

Meh, I better not, at least there are some indications that certain dish detergents will work. I still have time to get this resolved, from what I can tell I have to wait until the sedge starts growing its little leaflets before I can treat it anyway, so I'll keep my eyes open for the best (but yet cheapest) surfactant to use. Nate, can you tell if your sedge is coming back this year, or was last years' treatment sufficient? And did it hurt your lawn in any way? I overseeded this year with tall fescue so hopefully it won't hurt mine.

So far it looks good... I sprayed them twice last year as they came back after just one spray. It didn't hurt my lawn at all and I think it's too early to say they are gone. We had a wet spring and now with the extreme heat it's going to be a good year for weeds. I aerated this spring and already put down Milorganite, Scotts Step 1, Scotts Step 2, Iron and then Scotts Turf Builder... On top of that I've put down the following for weeds and bugs: Scotts GrubEx, two applications of Spectracide Triazicide Insect Killer (March & June) and sprayed Bayer crabgrass killer for lawns and Weed-B-Gone Max.

My yard has been a tough battle:

2005 - seeded
2006 - yard matured after lots of work and aerating & seeding twice a year
2007 - good year
2008 - cut worm infestation
2009 - some cut worms still left even after half a dozen applications and 3 different active chemicals
2010 - white grubs and sedge weeds
2011 - crabgrass started where the grubs were, but knocked out early spring

My yard is pretty good and on top of all that I've also been watering this week, so my yard is really thick and dark green right now... Going to be tough for weeds to get in this year.

[Kaos Kid]

Wow, you are a busy bee! Mine is greener than it has been in years as well, but I do have some weeds poking out here and there, a little clover and a few dandelions. Beats the heck out of the bald/thin spots that I had last year. I couldn't treat it with weed killer at first because of the new seed and sprouts but I will try to spot-treat them as I see them. I did use some scotts but I was probably a little too late as I didn't get it down until some weeds has already emerged (I didn't want to burn my newly sprouted grass). Still, my wife is happy since it is looking better than the last few years so that is half the battle, lol. I don't have inground irrigation so it is a pain to water with regular sprinklers, plus this wind scatters the spray so setting up a good pattern works for awhile then the wind shifts and I'm watering concrete...

I bought the economy size ProSedge last year so I have enough for multiple applications--Imma making darn sure that I eradicate that pesky sedge this year!

[Apoptosis]

I looked close this morning and sure enough in my worst spot along the driveway, mailbox and sidewalk I got some coming up already... looks like I'm going to have to fight off the sedge once again.

Not sure if I should wait for it to fill out a little and the rest to come up or do it now.

[Kaos Kid]

I found this little bit of info that says June is a good time and July is probably too late, I'm going to start applying probably next week. When it states to pull the tops off of any established nutsedge, I think they mean only the tops (flowers/leaves/nutlets?) but not the whole plant.

Most systemics work best in late summer or early fall when weeds are actively growing and directing the storage of manufactured sugars to roots, rhizomes, corms, bulbs, tubers, nutlets, etc. Unfortunately, nutsedge is next to impossible to control with a postemergence systemic once their tubers form in July/August. Also, do not try to control nutsedge with a systemic postemergence in early spring because the plant's focus is on suppling nutirents to top growth and you have insufficient leaf surface to deliver a knockout blow. Typical postemergence applications should be made 6-8 weeks after emergence, but before tubers develop. Tubers develop quickly in July & August in Illinois and, therefore, June would be the best time for postemergence applications. Here is good link that discusses the application of Basagran, Image and Halosulfuron for the control of nutsedge in ornamental beds: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/…

Pulling the tops off established nutsedges when there are 5 to 6 leaves and doing this repeatedly will eventually deplete the established nutsedge tubers of their energy to reproduce new plants. So, your best control procedure would be the use of a preemergence to prevent Nutsedge. If you miss this opportunity, apply split postemergence applications in June and repeatedly pull the tops off any established nutsedge that survives your postemergence applications.

[Apoptosis]

right... you don't want it to reproduce by seed, so trim that off... The more of the stem/blade that you have the better the chemical can get into the roots and nutlets to kill it off. That is why they say apply between cuttings and not to cut the grass for a few days. They want the blades to be long and allow plenty of time for the active ingredient to soak in before you cut it off.

[skier]

that grass is coming in in my yard like usual, but my yard is way too big to do anything about it

4+ acre lawn is a pain to keep up

[Apoptosis]

that grass is coming in in my yard like usual, but my yard is way too big to do anything about it

4+ acre lawn is a pain to keep up

10,000 sq feet here, so 0.2 acre ;)

[Kaos Kid]

Hey Nate

With the price of ProSedge and the difficulty you are having in eradicating the sedge grasses, I decided to just go ahead and pop for the real thing on the surfactant. I got lucky and found one 1-gal jug of Drexel HUM-AC 820 at the Rural King out by you, it was only $10 and I got some other lawn stuff I needed while I was there to justify the gas.
Since I now have plenty, if you'd like to try some of it instead of dish soap, let me know and I'll hook you up. I think it is so hard to find locally because it is classified as agricultural supplies (since farmers use it more that anyone) and not as lawn/garden supplies. I plan on starting treatment as soon as this little wet patch we're having moves on and it gets back to summer as usual.