Weed?

Donna N
by Donna N
I have this coming up all through my flowerbed. Can anyone tell me what it is? I can't find anything online that even looks remotely close. I live in the West Central part of Oklahoma if that means anything...
Leaves are soft not spiked like a pine tree.
Right now it's about 3" tall.
Some are smaller.
  35 answers
  • Nancy Hand Nancy Hand on May 22, 2013
    I see some spurge which I can't stand! :) Its the small leaf in the upper left corner of picture 1. The grassy weed you are talking about is nutgrass or nutsedge. You can pull, spray or spray. lol Basagran is a good herbicide that will kill nutgrass.
  • Donna N Donna N on May 22, 2013
    OK, thanks Nancy. I'll pull it up. I just didn't want to disturb it if it was some sort of flower or something. Yeah, I have a lot of "spurge", I hate it too. The other plant in picture 1, the one with the broad leaves, that is wild violet right? (that's what I was told) It was here when I bought the house. It comes up everywhere!! Even in the lawn!
  • Gail Salminen Gail Salminen on May 22, 2013
    @Donna N The broad leafed plant looks to be a violet, and can also be very invasive. The other slim leafed plant could be spurge but it could also be allium ( http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=316 ) I have some in my garden as well. Just finished digging all of the grass out and the young ones look quite like this. You can tell by breaking the leaf and smelling it, allium has an onion odour - flowers are wonderful, but go to seed and spread a lot. Control the spread by picking the flower before it goes to seed.
  • Donna N Donna N on May 22, 2013
    Gail, after reading your reply, I went outside to "smell" the "alien plant" and it just smells like if you would tear grass and smell it. It just smells like cut grass. No onion smell. It's really light and airy....I'm not totally convinced that it's "nutgrass" (sry Nancy) because it just doesn't look like any of the images I have viewed. I'm just gonna let it grow and see what it does. Everything needs a chance at life and I'm gonna wait this one out. Thanks for replying! :-)
  • Donna N Donna N on May 22, 2013
    Thanks for the answers, but I'm still hoping for more ideas.
  • Catherine Smith Catherine Smith on May 23, 2013
    You might take a sample to your local extension office. Your local extension agent should be able to tell you what it is and how to get rid of it if necessary. Just check under gov't in your local phone book for a phone number.
  • Melissa W Melissa W on May 23, 2013
    It does look like nutsedge. It sends runners underground and has a "nut" on the root. Don't just pull it straight out. For best results, loosen the soil around the them and try and pull the root and "nut" out too. If you just pull the top off, it will grow right back up. This spreads fast, so don't wait too long.
  • Deb Deb on May 23, 2013
    I'm in Utah and I have the same grass in picture #2 throughout one of my beds. It's very invasive. I've been working for the past year to get it under control. The only thing I've found that helps is Roundup, (which does a great job) but I can only use it where there isn't any other vegetation. Thank goodness it's a rock garden and I haven't added all the plants yet! The digging and pulling of the root system seems to be an endless battle. I think I'm going to try to local extension office for some help. Thanks for the suggestion Catherine.
  • Bre Casey Bre Casey on May 23, 2013
    Nutgrass is HARD to get rid of. We have it everywhere in our yard in Monroe, LA. Good luck trying to get rid of it.
  • Carolyn G Carolyn G on May 23, 2013
    Nutgrass usually comes from chicken fertilizer
  • Carolyn G Carolyn G on May 23, 2013
    Sometimes knowing the cause is half the battle
  • Jill Reynolds Jill Reynolds on May 23, 2013
    Everything that kills nutsedge is outlawed...you have to pick by hand.
  • Patricia Runkle Patricia Runkle on May 23, 2013
    Looks like Nutgrass. (a weed in my opinion) Just keep pulling it out including the roots & eventually it will be gone.
  • Sam Hicks Sam Hicks on May 23, 2013
    I'm going to read up on chicken fertilizer..... we use that... I will be VERY upset , when I've worked my body into spasms - to enjoy my investment of time, sun burns,and really bad back aches. While waiting to see what Mother Earth will create for me in return, weeds are a Bummer
  • Vicki Melton Vicki Melton on May 23, 2013
    Yes, it's nutgrass! And it's hard to get rid of, so don't "give it a chance"! You can dig it up, but the "nuts' are attached by underground runners, so if you pull it , and even trace the runners to other nuts, you'll still leave some behind. You have to keep on it. We've used an product called "Sedgehammer" for the nutgrass in the yard, but weren't consistent in our spraying, so we still have it. I've dug it and dug it out of beds and they look better, but it's still in some of them. The problem is, that, if it's in the yard near your beds, it can spread back into the beds from the yard. If you spray it, make sure you get a spray that specifically mentions "nutsedge" or "nutgrass". Other sprays will kill the top, but not necessarily the "nut". I'm wishing you good success!!
  • Josie laine Josie laine on May 23, 2013
    there is a weed killer that killer that will not hurt other plants....weed be gone
  • Kay C Kay C on May 23, 2013
    I just put chicken manure on my tomatoes and strawberries, raspberries and gooseberries..!!~~
  • Carol M Carol M on May 23, 2013
    Please do not use "weed killers" they leach into our water supply..Here in the NW it would likely be some sort of lily or allium..
  • Diana Kiley Diana Kiley on May 23, 2013
    this is definitely nut sedge. I just spent 2 hours digging up the unplanted part of my garden and carefully pulling this nasty thing. When I purchased my home 4 years ago, it was solid and I have finally gotten it down to only about 1 every 4 inches. Argh ! ! ! ! !
  • Donna N Donna N on May 23, 2013
    OK, I dug it up and there is not a "nut" on the roots. The leaves appear to be a little plump, kinda like a succulent, not flat like a blade of grass. I know it's not a succulent.
  • Duffy V Duffy V on May 23, 2013
    nuts edge and Tru green has a solution
  • Nancy Hand Nancy Hand on May 23, 2013
    The close up shot doesn't look like nutgrass. Beat's me!! :) It probably in the grass family, selective spraying with Round up will kill it. lol Good Luck! :)
  • Rose S Rose S on May 23, 2013
    I know this as "nut grass". The world will come to an end and cockroaches and nut grass will survive. I have traveled extensively and have seen it all over the globe. Stomp (not literally on it, for it spreads quickly. :-)
  • Louise Moriconi Louise Moriconi on May 23, 2013
    lt looks like nut grass . If you pull it up it will come back you have to get the nut which is pea size . I use strong round up to control it .It is almost impossible to get rid of .
  • Kristine Fiddelke Kristine Fiddelke on May 23, 2013
    I live in Lakeland Fl. everyone calls it rocket grass??? It is everywhere and pokes threw weed blocker material. I just try to get it up by the roots but it still comes up and is like on runners.
  • Mary anne Z Mary anne Z on May 23, 2013
    its a weed member of the grass family pull it up it will never be anything but a weed
  • Kathy C Kathy C on May 23, 2013
    I agree with some of the above about it being nutgrass and you have to get to the root which is a little round and smash it. This is what my neighbor did when I was quite a bit younger and living in the central valley of CA.
  • Emilou Emilou on May 23, 2013
    Maybe your local extension agent or master gardener group can help you identify it. Also, try vinergar to kill it, but with all things be careful not to get anything on the plants you want to keep.
  • Louise Biernesser Louise Biernesser on May 24, 2013
    Paint the weed with vinegar. (Take a tiny paint brush and dip it in a bowl of vinegar & paint) I sometimes mix some salt and dish soap to help it stay on. The vinegar will kill the weed - be careful though, as vinegar will also kill your plants!
  • Laurie Laurie on May 24, 2013
    Looks like Yellow Goatsbeard to me. Pull it.
  • Christie Christie on May 24, 2013
    From the wife of a chicken farmer who also grew row crops for 10 years, the weeds don't come from the chicken fertilizer. They are dormant in the soil and the fertilizer "wakes" them up. Yum, yum good stuff. : )
  • Diana Kiley Diana Kiley on May 25, 2013
    Nope, I now agree it is not nutsedge. If it had a slight purple cast, I would vote for tumbleweed-Russian thistle. I vote for going to the local extension agent.
  • Donna N Donna N on May 25, 2013
    Diane, I got online and googled tumbleweed seedling images and you know what? I believe that's what it is! Over the winter I had 2 very large tumbleweeds in that flowerbed! I think the mystery is solved! Thank you so much! I knew it wasn't nutgrass! LOL
  • Diana Kiley Diana Kiley on May 26, 2013
    Thank goodness it is not nutgrass. Tumbleweeds are easier to manage - at least in the yard. (Let's not talk about the farmland. ) Just pull that little puppy up. I am sure that it has some little friends lurking in the ground waiting to peek their little heads up. LOL
  • Brian Karth Brian Karth on Jun 19, 2013
    It is Yellow Nutsedge, spray with roundup carefully not to get on any desired plants or better to dig out, they have small bulb lets underground that spread and rapidly grow if you do not get it all out.