Grassy Weed in Cincinnati and Dayton

Grassy Weed in Cincinnati and Dayton

The wet weather has brought on some grassy weeds in Cincinnati and Dayton lawns.  One grassy weed that is popping up all over with the rainy weather is actually not even a grass.  It is a sedge.  It is called nutsedge, but also referred to as nutgrass.  It is sometimes a neon green colored grass that stands up taller than the rest of your good grass.  It grows quicker than blue, rye, and fescue grasses and you can tell it is a sedge by its triangular stem.  Nutsedge is considered a grassy weed in Cincinnati and Dayton lawns because it does not match up well with your normal cool season grasses.  Why not?  First off it grows much quicker.  Secondly, it is usually a lime green color.  Third, it isn’t even a grass.

So what can be done?  Nutsedge is a summer annual weed that comes in usually June/July and will start to naturally die off in the Late Fall like crabgrass.  Here are 5 ways to help control this grassy weed in your Cincinnati and Dayton lawn.

1)  DO NOT over irrigate the lawn.  This promotes nutsedge, other weeds, and fungus.  If Mother Nature is providing an inch of rain every 3-7 days then you can turn off your irrigation system for that week.

2)  Improve drainage by installing drainage tiles or by core aeration in the Spring or Fall.  Nutsedge likes to grow in poorly drained areas.

3)  DO NOT pull nutsedge.  If you do not get the full plant it can actually spread into more plants and you will have a worse problem.

4)  Put down seed this Fall (Sept/Early Oct) to promote a thicker lawn of newer grass varieties that will choke out the nutsedge as best as possible.

5)  Spot chemical treatments can be applied to nutsedge.  Call us to have a selective weed control applied to the nutsedge areas.

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