Working to create a beautiful lawn is a lot of work, and when that work is destroyed by unwanted plants taking over your grass, that can be incredibly frustrating. One of those unwanted plants that is also hard to get rid of is called yellow nutsedge.

Learn more about this nuisance plant and how to get it out of your lawn in areas such as Lowell, Ada, Cascade, and surrounding cities in Michigan.

How to Identify Yellow Nutsedge

The first sign of yellow nutsedge is your lawn slowly turning yellow. This plant is a type of sedge, or a grass-like plant. It generally begins growing in the months of June, July, and August. While at first, it may not be as visible as other undesirable plants, you will quickly notice it happen because nutsedge will grow much more quickly than your grass and will stick up from the rest of the grass. Your previously uniform lawn will no longer look green and vibrant. It is a very invasive plant and will take over the lawn rapidly. As it grows, there will be spiky yellow flower-like structures sticking out of the top of it.

How to Get Rid of Yellow Nutsedge

Yellow nutsedge weeds overgrown on a Cascade, MI lawn.

Getting rid of yellow nutsedge is not a simple process. Since sedge is not a typical weed, it does not respond to broadleaf weed control treatments. Removing nutsedge is a multi-year process because it can never be truly removed, it has to be suppressed. In other words, yellow nutsedge may always be present in your yard but suppression treatments can help to control its presence and restore your lawn to its former healthy and green state.

It might be tempting to try and pull out the nutsedge when you see it, but that is not a good idea. Pulling the sedge will cause it to spread even quicker, as the plant is made to reproduce from any broken roots, and it is difficult to remove all of the roots. The process to get rid of, or suppress, nutsedge includes:

  • Not mowing the lawn for a few days (72 hours) after calling a lawn care company
  • The lawn care company will come out to spray with a product proven to help suppress nutsedge
  • Give the product time to soak in (usually another 72 hours) before mowing again

This first treatment may suppress some of the nutsedge, but it will not get all of it. Multiple treatments will be required to keep it from overtaking your lawn.

Do you think your lawn may have yellow nutsedge? Call us for a consultation.

At Turf Tech Fertilization, we are local lawn care experts who are well-versed in getting rid of yellow nutsedge and the difficult process it entails. If you think your lawn in Ada, Lowell, Cascade, or nearby areas of Michigan may have this nuisance plant, we can help. Call us at (616) 425-7500 to set up a consultation or submit our online contact form and one of our team members will reach out to you shortly.