How can I control nutgrass in my flower beds? -Virginia

Hi Virginia,
I don’t know of any method that will completely rid your flowerbed of nutgrass, since it is one of the most stubborn weeds on the planet. It’s not a simple matter of pulling it up and it’s done.

Nutgrass grows along an underground tuber system that can literally stretch for several yards. Rather than yank the one growth up, you would need to patiently dig through the dirt to follow the tube system and locate the many underground bulbs and remove them.

The only effective herbicide is one that contains glyphosphate, like Roundup, but even that isn’t a 100% guarantee. Another method would be to attempt to block the sunlight from reaching the plants.

To do that, start by completely clearing out your flower bed and remove as many of the weeds as possible. Then, using long gutter spikes, attach a double layer thickness of cardboard to the ground and cover it with at least 3” of thick mulch, preferably one made from recycled rubber.

The nutgrass will still sprout under the cardboard, but it will have great difficulty penetrating the cardboard and, with the lack of sunlight, will eventually wither and die.

Good luck with your project,

Further Information

• How to Control Weeds in Your Lawn (article)
• How To Control Dollarweed (Pennywort) in Your Lawn (article)
• How to Target Weeds in Your Yard (video)
• How To Control Dandelions In Your Yard (article)

Tags: , garden, weed, weeds, yard