A homeowner took to Reddit to vent their frustration after their recently transformed yard was invaded by a particularly pesky invasive species.
Posting in the r/NativePlantGardening subreddit, they detailed their plight after converting to a fully native yard.
"Just 18 days ago, we redid our whole front yard with native flowers and shrubs," the OP wrote. "We're not using landscaping fabric because we've heard that's bad for the environment, but the whole yard is covered in at least two inches of leaf mulch. We've already got a full-yard nutsedge invasion on our hands."
Nutsedge is classified as a weed, and a particularly pesky one at that. According to Image Herbicides, nutsedge is a weed native to North America that is particularly difficult to kill because of the way it spreads. It's aggressive and reproduces quickly via underground rhizomes, which grow and spread across yards incredibly quickly. Because of their thin stalks and quick-growing patterns, they can outcompete other grasses for sunlight in your yard.
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What makes them tricky is that many normal herbicides are ineffective against them, and pulling them can quickly become an exercise in futility. That's because the other way that nutsedges reproduce is through tubers called nutlets. These nutlets sit at the roots of the plant and quickly aid in the spread of the plant through your lawn.
If you start trying to pull them, leaving even partial nutlets in the soil means that the plant will come back with a vengeance, and since even one yellow nutsedge can produce thousands of nutlets per year, getting them all out requires diligence, patience, and a high tolerance for frustration.
That said, switching to a natural lawn like the poster did is a great way to save water and get a unique, fun yard that looks incredible.
Commenters were quick to point out that their only option might be to start pulling and hope for the best.
"I just saw another post on this and the consensus was get to picking," one said. "Sure you're not going to get a perfect eradication the first time but you've got to engage in the battle."
"Yeah I have the same issue and I just go outside and pick each one individually," said another Redditor. "It's relaxing if you just put some music on!!"
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