Help with what I thought was a daylily

deanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b

7 years ago

These tall spikes were daylilies, I thought. I planted daylilies only in the fall of 2017 and specifically notated where they went. I've been watching these but there are NO signs whatsoever of any bloom even developing. Finally looked at my diagram to figure it out. These don't match any descriptions of what I purchased in height, nor do they fit my diagram for location. Right now these plants are really interfering with the Baths Pink dianthus they have invaded. I'm afraid I'm going to lose the dianthus. I'm also amazed at how many of these tall foliage spikes there are. You would have think I had a huge patch of whatever it is. Could it be a first-year something-or-other grown from seed dropped there? Also, the foliage seems rough on the edges and is very thin, thinner than the standard daylily foliage. I have planted no decorative grasses at all. There are some 'Siloam Little Girl' daylilies immediately to the right planted in 2017. The pink flowers are Rose Campion. I'm confused not only because nothing fits the diagram, but also because there aren't any buds or developing flora at all. I'm happy to dig up a root if needed.

Featured Answer

Bookwoman

7 years ago

Are the stems triangular? If so, it's probably yellow nutsedge.

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Comments (10)

peren.all Zone 5a Ontario Canada
7 years ago
It appears to be a weedy grass of some sort. They can grow very quickly and I would imagine you will see a spikelet soon indicating that it is a grass.
deanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b thanked peren.all Zone 5a Ontario Canada
deanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b
Original Author
7 years ago
Good grief--these are the shorter spikes!
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harold100
7 years ago
We have those nasty weeds here in Virginia. But they are not everywhere. My friend two streets over has them in her mulch and I help her stay on top of it. You must pull those out as soon as they appear to prevent spreading. I have no idea what the name might be.
deanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b thanked harold100
harold100
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
It would be best to use a pitchfork and pry soil loose in that area to get out every root. You will break off less of them that way. They really spread quickly Underground.
deanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b thanked harold100
NHBabs z4b-5a NH
7 years ago
I agree with both the ID of yellow nutsedge, Cyperus esculentus, and the suggestion to loosen soil to get roots or plan to pull weekly. It is a persistent weed.
deanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b thanked NHBabs z4b-5a NH
deanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b
Original Author
7 years ago
Fortunately they were in foamy loose soil. They pulled up extremely easily with all roots intact, but there were a few that left tubers in the ground. Keeping an eye out for them. Thank you for your help, everybody! Feeling all my grassy looking small weeds now for that toothed edge, which is very noticeable, as I pull them.
deanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b
Original Author
7 years ago
Found a small shoot growning from one of the rhizomes left in the ground. The rhizome went without doubt over 8 inches underground. Unbelievable. I was able to pull another rhizome which crossed over it at the same time. Very few are now left underground so I'm hoping the battle is winnable in its infancy.

The thing that confuses me is this weed has razor teeth on the edge of the blades which are very obvious to the touch. I had found no mention of that on multiple websites with nutsedge information, even the detailed ones from state agricultural departments/universities. Does that sound right for nutsedge? It does have the triangular stem and trilateral blades. Could it be a type of sawgrass? Very little info on sawgrasses in Maine

One site did say that a single nutsedge tuber resulted in thousands of plants. Not good.
Bookwoman
7 years ago
Yes, the edges of nutsedge blades are quite sharp. I only pull them with gloves on!
deanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b thanked Bookwoman
deanna in ME Barely zone 6a, more like 5b
Original Author
7 years ago
Thank you, Bookwoman. Very helpful!