How to Control & Kill Nutsedge or Nutgrass

This aggressive weed looks like pale grass.

What is Nutsedge?

Nutsedge is a perennial, grass-like lawn weed that is light green and grows faster in hot weather than lawn grasses. Also called nutgrass, this weed prefers moist soil but can thrive almost anywhere. Its V-shaped stem helps distinguish this grass look-alike from real grasses. Its leaves are yellow-green and look like grass blades, but nutsedge grows a spiky seed head in purple or yellow. Because of its growing habit, individual nutsedge plants may eventually form patches of 10 feet or more in diameter.

This grassy weed is technically not a grass. It's a sedge, or part of a family of grass-like plants, and it's very difficult to control. Nutsedge seeks out the moist, poorly drained sections of your yard where it produces tubers, called "nutlets," and rhizomes below ground that sprout new plantlets. These tiny tubers can grow 8-14 inches deep in the soil, and they make nutsedge a particularly difficult weed to control. You'll usually see this weed popping up in your lawn in late-spring through mid-summer.

Prevention and Maintenance

Mow High to Help Control Nutsedge

Depending on your turf type and latitude, you can help control nutsedge or nutgrass by changing the way you mow. Mow your lawn at the proper height, which in most cases is one of the 2 highest settings on your mower, to help grass crowd out nutsedge and other weeds. Mowing short stimulates nutsedge growth.

Kill Nutsedge in Your Lawn

You can control nutsedge in your lawn by applying Ortho® Nutsedge Killer Ready-To-Spray. It's effective against newly emerged and established sedges. The weed is yellowed in 1-2 days, and complete kill occurs in 2-3 weeks. It can be used on Northern and Southern turf grasses and is rainproof in 2 hours.

Kill Nutsedge Outside Your Lawn

Use Ortho® GroundClear® Super Weed & Grass Killer to kill nutsedge quickly—and for good—in landscape beds and hardscapes. The formula is designed to get rid of nutsedge, and 174 other types of weeds, roots and all.