Cyperus esculentus "Yellow Nutsedge" looks like a grass but is actually a sedge. I am basically unable to find any positive discussion of this plant, though I do think it is pretty. And it has a tenacious grip on life.
So here's the lowdown: Yellow Nutsedge is a perennial sedge that propegated via seed and tubers. Tubers are capable of propegating 1,900 plants and 7,000 additional tubers annually. Infestations are extremely difficult to eradicate. In this post I read on davesgarden.com (last post on page) the writer had tried for 20 years to get rid of it, without success.
Getting rid of it:
1) pull seedlings before they develop tubers.
2) Do not allow seedheads to survive.
3) Put down HEAVY barriers, such as thick rubber mats. Nutsedge will grow through normal weed barriers, and through many other things, including cement.
4) Dig out tubers, which grow up to 18" below surface of soil (making soil solarization a pointless exercise). This will have to be repeated according to accounts I have read.
5) Use chemicals. Since Yellow Nutsedge is impervious to Roundup or any other weedkiller available through retail, I recommend hiring a professional. However, due to the tubers, applications must be repeated yearly.
I still think it's kinda pretty. In the wild, turkeys feed on the seeds, and pigs (another ineradicable pest) root for the tubers.
3 comments:
Thanks Ais! On a positive note, I have heard that the nuts they produce are quite tasty. I also read somewhere that if you keep pulling it out withing 3-4 days of it sprouting, before it can produce more nuts, it will steal all the energy from the nuts or tubers it's growing from and stop sprouting. The hardest part for me is catching them within a few days of sprouting, as I don't always have time to be there at the studio where I garden. You definitely have helped me to see their unique beauty within their pure evilness though.
Hi - just in the neighborhood.
I know very little about weeds - though I do fondly remember this one from my childhood. Idyling away hours in the yard, I would play with whatever plant and animal life I could find (Ais -did you ever see our frogpond?) A couple of times, I would take a stock of yellow nutsedge (which I never knew the name of) and used as a pretend airplane. VRRROMM!Once, I even used it to hit my brother Matt because he was terrorizing me. It has a thick, heavy stock, and left a welt on his arm. So there's two practical uses of this weed - pretend airplane and weapon!
I think Linda has encountered their weaponlike aspect, she says she keeps getting stabbed by their spiky leaves!
Post a Comment