To optimize the ability of Sedgehammer to control nutsedge, you need a quality “nonionic surfactant” (aka “NIS”).  If you’re paying attention to our rants, or if you’ve even read the SedgeHammer label (what?), you’re aware of the need to include NIS in the spray solution.  We’re one of the few places in town that has the right stuff.  In addition to helping Sedgehammer kick sedge butt, it makes your broadleaf weed killer better, too.

Nonionic surfactant reduces the surface tension of water, allowing the active ingredient (halosulfuron) to be physically spread upon a greater proportion of the leaf surface.  In addition, there are components of the NIS that enhance penetration through the waxy leaf cuticle (surface).  Viola! There you have it…better product spreading on leaf surfaces, and enhanced penetration.  We’ll sell individual packets for $2.00 each, or 3 for $5.00.

In the St. Louis area, a weed known as nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus) has proven to be very difficult to control, in both turf and landscape settings.  You may know this weed by a few other common names, such as nutgrass, water grass and even ”inch-a-day”, among others.  Yellow nutsedge is a prolific perennial weed, capable of producing tons (Literally! Tons!) of underground tubers, as well as other types of vegetative tissues, such as rhizomes and stolons.  The lesson in botany really doesn’t matter…it just makes for one tough sum buck to control.  But, keep in mind that it’s actually better to control this plant with herbicides than it is to pull it.  When you pull this plant, you’re leaving behind dozens of pieces of roots, tubers, rhizomes and stolons, that will only serve to regenerate as a thicker patch of sedge. 

The tuber of this nasty weed is nothing more than a miniature potato, or in essence, a giant seed.  When you spray the plant with SedgeHammer® you’re going do a better job of killing the underground tissues, because the active ingredient in this product, halosulfuron, will move from the leaves into the roots, where it can destroy a great deal of the underground biomass.  Spray!  Don’t pull.  You’ll have to spray at least twice per summer.  Sorry to break this news to you, but that’s the truth.

Nutsedge is a very persistent weed.  You should start spraying it in June, after it has become an obvious weed.  Don’t expect one treatment to do take care of it for the season…at least two applications should be made each summer.  This weed will come back each year, so just be sure not to let your guard down.  If you do a good job, it will become thinner and less invasive each year.  The best defense against nutsedge is a thick, healthy turf!

Here’s a couple of fun facts about nutsedge:  yellow nutsedge is actually an edible food.  In tropical climates it’s called ”chufa”, but the tubers are larger (marble sized) than they are here in St. Louis (pea-sized).  If you like water chestnuts, you’re eating nutsedge tubers!

Control of Nutsedge with SedgeHammer® using a Hand-Can or Small Sprayer

1. Add the water soluble packing containing the small granules to the sprayer tank.  Mix or swirl to make sure the granules dissolve completely.  Starting off with a couple quarts of hot water helps to dissolve the product thoroughly.

2. If you have a quality non-ionic surfactant, add it to the spray solution.  We sell a great dry pak of NIS, perfect for 2 gallons of spray.

3. This must cover no less than 1,000 sq ft!  It’s OK if you stretch it to 2,000 sq ft.  If you mix the halosulfuron and the dry NIS into 2 gallons of water, you can easily spray 2,000 sq ft of weedy sedges.

4. Do not soak the nutsedge patches – one pass, or a max of two passes, over the plant or patch should be sufficient.  Do not spray to wet!

5. If you have left over liquid, kill the nutsedge in your neighborhood.

6. Do not contact desirable plants, but if you do, it’s not as unforgiving as glyphosate products.

7. This spray solution must be used within 48 hours, because the herbicide will degrade.

8. It’s best to spray nutsedge ~2 days after mowing, when it’s easy to detect.  Wait at least one day before mowing or watering.  Spray in the evening when the neon-green coloration is easier to detect.

9. Death is slow.  Nutsedge won’t die completely for 21 to 25 days, but it won’t regrow.  If you notice regrowth 3 to 7 days after spraying, it’s most likely that you missed that patch. 

10. This product does not kill any other lawn and garden weeds, so you needn’t waste time spraying them.

Control of Nutsedge with SedgeHammer®, using a Hose-End Sprayer (for huge patches or significant infestations)

1.   Start with hot water, so the granules dissolve quickly!

2. Add additional hot water to the 2-gallon mark on the sprayer container.  Swirl/mix the product until it is dissolved.

3. Add your pak of NIS surfactant.  

4. This must cover no less than 2,000 sq ft.  If you’re sharp, you’ll notice that we are telling you to apply a single dose to twice as much area as the product label tells you to.  

5. Stretch the hose out to the farthest corner of the area to be treated, and be sure that you can cover the area quickly and efficiently, avoiding tangles, kinks, trees, etc.

6. Using 2 gallons of spray to deliver this dose of product should allow you to make two spot-passes over 2,000 sq ft.  Work fast, especially at first, to figure out your timing.

7. Be careful to avoid soaking your desirable ornamentals the spray.  If you do, use copious amounts of tap water to wash the herbicide off the foliage.

8. If you have left over liquid, kill the nutsedge in your neighborhood.

9. Spray solution must be used within 48 hours, because the herbicide will degrade.

10. It’s best to spray nutsedge ~2 days after mowing, when it’s easy to detect.  Wait at least one day before mowing or watering.  Spray in the evening when the neon-green coloration is easier to detect.

11. Death is slow.  Nutsedge won’t die completely for 14 to 21 days, but it won’t regrow if you’ve sprayed properly.  If you notice rapid growth 3 to 7 days after spraying, it’s most likely that you missed that patch. 

12. This product does not kill any other lawn and garden weeds, so you needn’t waste time spraying them.