When the temperatures start to get hotter, we look forward to our lawn greening as it wakes from the winter dormancy. The last thing we want to see is weeds, especially dallisgrass and nutsedge. As a general rule of thumb, the longer dallisgrass has been established, the more difficult it will be to control. Nutsedge can infest anywhere in your lawn, vegetable garden, and flower garden. Both of these difficult weeds are aggressive and normally require professional lawn care treatments to manage a large infestation.
Dallisgrass:
Dallisgrass is a perennial weed that grows in a circular clump and these ring formations can grow to cover and smother the surrounding grass in your garden. Dallisgrass spreads primarily by rhizomes (underground roots) or seeds. The underground growth makes it difficult to eradicate as the ground roots go deep and can be well established.
This pesky weed grows in bunches or clumps, with leaves on the bottom shoots. Dallisgrass has a distinct grayish-green color and a few sparse hairs on the leaf collar and it thrives in sandy or clay soils, leaving us in the south more susceptible to visible growth. They can grow back from the root system every year, making them one of the most troublesome types of weeds.
Nutsedge:
Nutsedge outbreaks often start in moist, poorly drained lawn areas, where they quickly develop into large colonies. Their extensive root systems may reach up to 4 feet deep and once established, these weeds can tolerate drought. The two types of nutsedge, yellow and purple, clearly stand out against green turf. Other grasses have round stems, but nutsedge forms a “V” shape and have a distinct center rib. Just as dallisgrass, nutsedge also spreads via underground stems, known as rhizomes, but the most common way for it to spread is through underground tubers known as “nutlets.” Nutlets may survive hidden deep in the soil for up to 10 years before emerging to produce new nutsedge plants.
Similarities between Dallisgrass and Nutsedge:
Both dallisgrass and nutsedge can be invasive and stubborn. You can physically pull the weed but that doesn’t mean there won’t be more. The answer to how to kill dallisgrass and nutsedge is threefold: lawn health, pre-emergent treatments, and post-emergent treatments. A thick, well-maintained lawn is really the best weed killer you can have.
If you are experiencing an infestation of one of these difficult weeds, give LawnPro of Murfreesboro a call today at 615-653-3871 !