They’re related — both belong to the sedge family — but they’re different plants, and confusing them leads to the wrong treatment approach. Nutsedge produces underground tubers, sometimes called “nuts,” that store energy and drive regrowth. Kyllinga doesn’t have those tubers. Instead, it spreads aggressively through a rhizome network and produces around 5,000 seeds per plant each year. That combination of underground spread and prolific seeding is what makes it so persistent.
Visually, both weeds have the triangular stems that define the sedge family. Kyllinga tends to grow in lower, denser mats and has a rounder seedhead compared to the more elongated seedhead of nutsedge. In a Suffolk County lawn, you’ll often find both — especially in areas where irrigation creates consistently moist soil zones, or where drainage is compromised by the clay subsoil layer beneath Long Island’s characteristic sandy topsoil.
We already offer a dedicated nutsedge control program, and we treat kyllinga as the distinct weed it is — with the right identification, the right herbicide selection, and the right timing. If you’re not sure which sedge you’re dealing with, we can help sort that out before any treatment begins.