Nutsedge is a common weed found in turf, landscapes and gardens. It can thrive in waterlogged soil and its presence often means that turf is stressed and less competitive due to poor drainage, too much irrigation, or leaky sprinklers. However, nutsedge will also tolerate and thrive under-normal irrigation conditions or drought.

If you have nutsedge in your yard it can look a lot like grass, but it is not. To identify nutsedge, look for a solid triangular stem at the base. Grass leaves are opposite, in sets of two. Nutsedge has three long, leaf-like bracts at the base of each flower head.

Nutsedge is usually the first plant to grow back after mowing the lawn, so it stands out above your turf grass. Herbicides that control broadleaves and grasses do NOT usually kill nutsedge.

Two common types of nutsedge are purple and yellow.

Nutsedge sprouts from both seeds and tubers. Tubers are sometimes referred to as nutlets, thus the origin of the name nutsedge. Yellow nutsedge produces round, smooth, brown or black tubers that are about 1/2 inch at maturity. Tubers of a yellow nutsedge plant have a pleasant almond taste.

Tubers of purple nutsedge plans are covered with red or red-brown scales and are formed in chains with several tubers on a single rhizome. These tubers are bitter to the taste.

Once a tuber sprouts, it produces a rhizome, or stem, and shoot. The shoot forms a bulb which then produces more rhizomes and the growth process continues. Individual nutsedge plants eventually form underground patches that can range up to 10 feet or more in diameter.

Purple and Yellow nutsedge are extremely aggressive weeds. In a study involving yellow nutsedge, during the first year of growth, a single tuber produced nearly 7,000 more tubers and nearly 2,000 plants.

Purple nutsedge is known to be even more aggressive than yellow nutsedge. This is because purple nutsedge produces a chain of nutlets along any given underground shoot, whereas yellow usually produces one nutlet per shoot.

Nutsedge is a perennial plant. The leaves and flowers of nutsedge generally die back in the fall as temperatures decrease; tubers and rhizomes survive in the soil and spout the following spring when soil temperatures remain above 43 degrees (yellow) or above 59 degrees (purple). The majority of tubers can be found in the top 6 inches of soil where they can survive for 1 to 3 years. In field crops, research indicates that most plants sprout from tubers, and seeds do not contribute much to the spread of nutsedge; however no work has been done to examine the role of seed in the spread of nutsedge in the landscape.

Yellow nutsedge has a good tolerance to cold weather. In a study involving yellow nutsedge, 95% of tubers survived 35 degree F (2C) for 12 weeks when buried at 10cm. Because of this tolerance, yellow nutsedge can be found in both cold and warm climates throughout the US.

Purple nutsedge is not tolerant of cold weather. In a study involving purple nutsedge, less than 10% of tubers survived 35 degrees F (2C) for 12 weeks when buried at 10cm. Because of its sensitivity to cold weather, purple nutsedge is found primarily in warm climates.

SedgeHammer is sold through your local garden stores, nurseries, and department stores. Stores needing to access SedgeHammer can call their local distributor to find SedgeHammer. Gowan sells SedgeHammer to many national and regional distributor chains.

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SedgeHammer has proven to be safe to all known turfgrasses of North America. Turf should be well established with a good root system prior to application.

A nonionic surfactant is also called a spreader sticker. It is always recommended that a surfactant be used to help SedgeHammer penetrate into the plant by dispersing the water droplets and sticking them to the leaf surface. For best results, incorporate a dry surfactant into the formulation. If a nonionic surfactant is not available, dishwashing detergent will work in place of the nonionic. Add the detergent last and mix by gently swirling together.

For optimum results it is best to apply SedgeHammer to young, actively growing nutsedge plants(plants that have emerged within the last 6 weeks). The benefit of SedgeHammer is that it works by entering the plant and moving to the growing points of both the foliage and root system, effectively killing both. However, because nutsedge plants can produce new nutlets underground if allowed to survive longer than 6 weeks. These applications must be made consistently to ensure eventual eradication.

Always use SedgeHammer the same day it is mixed with water. SedgeHammer can degredate within a couple of days if left in a water solution. The shelf life is quite good if not mixed in water or a solution. If kept in a cool dry place SedgeHammer can be stored for a few years without detrimental effects.

It is recommended that for best results you do not mow for two days before and two days after spraying SedgeHammer. SedgeHammer is rainfast within 4 hours of spraying and will not be affected unless rain occurs earlier.

It is best to stay off turf after SedgeHammer is sprayed at least until the spray droplets are dry.

It is recommended that you wait 2 weeks.

No, it is recommended that the grass be allowed to establish a good root system prior to applying SedgeHammer.

If used according to label directions SedgeHammer should not harm your pet.

No, for applications to emerged and actively growing nutsedge, watering is not required

SedgeHammer is taken into the nutsedge and stops growth within 24-48 hours. However, it usually takes 10-14 days to see yellowing and browning of the nutsedge leaves.

• Cocklebur (common)
• Horsetail
• Pigweed (redroot)
• Pigweed (smooth)
• Ragweed (common)
• Ragweed (giant)
• Sunflower
• Velvetleaf

Note: It is always better to apply SedgeHammer on weeds when they are small and early in their life cycle..