KT
Is this nutsedge (nutgrass) in my lawn? How to identify sedge in NZ lawns
Random grass/weed ID
Hey guys I have a tall fescue roll out lawn, slowly getting the hang of the maintenance. I’ve been letting the lawn get pretty wooly as it’s new and want to roots to take hold. When it gets longer I have tuffs of grass that are taller again and look different to fescue? I’m getting the odd paspalum come through so wondering if I should put a nzla blockade on as I won’t need to over-seed until next year
Blockade will stop it from seed only. It could be a number of things, without a seed head people are mostly guessing. Can you upload a close up photo of the collar/node and the ligule as well? That makes a big difference for ID. At first glance I thought at type of sedge, but again grass ID posts like this without a few proper close up photos of key plant areas are pretty limited in what you can actually confirm. Have a look at this and compare - https://driftlessprairies.org/how-to-id-sedges/
Could be Sedge. Does it have a triangular stem? The stem sits in the centre of the plant and rises vertically from the base, a key sign it’s part of the sedge family is that triangular stem.
A simple touch test is the giveaway. When you roll the stem between your fingers, it has a very noticeable triangular shape. The stem typically rises upright from the base, but in dense turf it can be a bit harder to isolate. Very young plants can be less obvious, the shape becomes clearer as they mature.
I think I can see in that first photo a double folded leaf, which is also an indication it’s sedge.
Rushes and grasses both have round hollow stems. To tell grasses and rushes apart, look for nodes or joints on the stem. If it has nodes, it's probably a grass.
We’ve got a product called SedgePro arriving Monday next week that will control it in turf if that's what it is.
I do agree with KJ, a lot of grass ID posts can be pretty hard to help with, especially when the photos are taken at arm’s length or from over a metre away. It was starting to get a bit out of hand in the Facebook group, with people calling everything Poa or paspalum. Even if you follow some of the weed scientists, they still struggle to tell grasses apart. It’s not like broadleaf weeds, which are generally much easier to identify.
@Jonny Hicks Also just noticed your question about Blockade. Typically sedges are rhizomatous so Blockade will provide very little (if any) control. Because the new shoots are coming from established root systems beneath the Blockade barrier, it’ll provide no control.
Thanks guys I’ll get a photo tomorrow and upload for you. I’ve been monitoring it for a while and it doesn’t seem to seed like paspalum. That’s why I’ve kinda let it get long so i can post on here as once I mow it, it actually becomes pretty hard to see