- Author: Belinda Messenger-Sikes
Nutsedges are aggressive and persistent weeds that commonly infest lawns, vegetable and flower gardens, and landscapes. These perennial sedges are a problem in lawns because they grow faster than turfgrasses and result in non-uniform turf. In landscape beds, nutsedge can grow up through mulches–even plastic mulches!
Yellow nutsedge grows throughout California while purple nutsedge can be found mostly in the south of the state and the Central Valley. Once established, nutsedge is difficult to control because it forms tubers in the soil that can live up to three years. The best approach is to prevent the weed's spread.
To help you identify and better manage this troublesome weed, UC IPM has updated the
- Author: Cheryl A. Wilen
- Posted by: Elaine Lander
Applying the wrong amount of pesticide can result in poor control if not enough is used; too much being applied can lead to waste and possibly illegal usage. If pest control is insufficient, the end result might be a second application that will be more expensive due to the cost of labor involved. If the pesticide is overused, the cost of the extra material is one consideration, but there might also be plant damage and a higher risk of pesticide moving off-site in runoff or leaching into groundwater.
In addition to reading the label carefully and making sure that pesticides are not washed off into storm drains, the applicator must be sure equipment is properly calibrated so that the proper amount of pesticide is applied. Poor...
- Author: Cheryl A. Wilen
[Originally published as "Managing Weeds in Landscapes" published in the Fall 2018 issue of the Retail Nursery and Garden Center IPM News.]
Nurseries and garden centers often sell a wide range of plants for use in gardens and landscapes. As a consumer, you may manage a complex array of different landscape plantings, including woody trees and shrubs, woody ground cover beds, annual flower beds, herbaceous perennial beds, and mixed plantings. This...
/span>Controlling weeds can be challenging to landscape professionals or home gardeners since landscapes often include a mix of turfgrass, annual plants, herbaceous perennials, shrubs, and trees.
The newly revised publication Pest Notes: Weed Management in Landscapes by Area IPM Advisor Cheryl Wilen, presents an integrated approach to weed management to help ensure weed control efforts are effective, environmentally-sound and economical. This science-based publication includes information on methods such as pre-planting considerations, the importance of weed identification, nonchemical practices such as using mulches and barriers, weed management...
- Author: Cheryl A. Wilen
I recently attended a Santa Ana River Orange County Weed Management Area (SAROCWMA) meeting and there was an opportunity for participants to update the group about new invasive plants as well as give an update on management of these and others. During the discussion, Ron Vanderhoff from the Orange County Native Plant Society (OC-CNPS), reported new findings of a plant I'd never heard of. In fact, when the group was talking about it, I wasn't sure if I heard the name right.
The plant is called stinknet (Oncosiphon piluliferum), which to me sounds like a game played by 10 year olds. However, the California Invasive Plant Council considers it an emerging invasive weed...