I can testify that IF you pull it and pull it and never let it get big and lush, you will eventually get rid of it.That, of course, is a tall order in an established patch of it. Also, if your ground is soft and has a crumbly tilth, you can dig it out. There are thick runners from the foliage tufts near the surface of the soil and the tufts put thread thin brown runners that go straight down about 4 to 6 inches. These have the nuts on them. If you dig carefully, you can get it out, but you have to get both kinds of runners. I have also had good luck wearing a rubber glove and dipping my fingers into a Nutsedge Killer (Image or Ortho's) and running my fingers through the sedge. Two applications, a week apart, will usually kill it to the root. I tend to keep it dug and pulled from my vegetable beds and to use the chemical controls in my flower beds. You need to know that the nuts can lay dormant in the ground for years and then sprout in response to wet conditions. So, it's an ongoing fight. I have found if I stay on top of it, over time, I have gotten control of it in my beds. Now, in my lawn? Not so much. I hate that stuff. Oh, and don't forget this thing also makes seeds. For goodness sake don't let it make seeds!

blue grasses I really like are the heliotrichon blue oats while the colour of elymus magellanica is outstanding - a pure chalky sky blue, without the fearsome invasiveness of blue lyme grass. Giant oat grass (Stipa gigantea) is stunning backlit by the sun -as are nearly all the miscanthus. For movement, stipa tenuissima and S.barbata are arresting and for lovely golden foliage, what can be nicer or easier than milium effusum (Bowles Golden grass). I am currently loving a small molinia with deep deep red flowers - M.Edith Dudku (I think, spelling might be a bit dodgy) Not familiar with the bluestems here in the UK (but always on the lookout for seeds - must checkout Chilterns but suspect they need too much moisture than what is available in semi-arid East Anglia)

Wow, Las Palitas doesn't make it sound like such a great option... Are they wrong? "Dune Sedge, Carex pansa is a very small creeping dune plant. Leaves making little tufts where it is happy. The happier the plant, the bigger the lawn. Needs near beach sand. The only time I've ever seen it look good in the wild was in an inner dune low spot that was moist and protected, then Dune Sedge almost made a lumpy lawn. Dune sedge cannot compete with alien grasses such as Veldt or Bromus. It sometimes gets called out for restoration, in that situation it should be either grown from propagules from the site, or divided on site. In yards it will only work in beach sand, moist protected flagstone/paver crack type situations. Someone has been spending time talking this one up. Here's a typical email or conversation. We want a lawn for about 5000 sq. feet of our backyard. However, we don't want to water or mow much (with the emphasis on water). We live in Los Osos where our soil is relatively fine-grained, dirty sand. We have two kids ages 7 and 4 who want to play sports (soccer, wiffle ball, etc.) in the backyard. Carex pansa looks like it might do the trick but we have a few questions: 1. Will it take traffic? no 2. Would it be a good idea to add something like composted steer manure to the soil? no 3. Can a gallon be split to create plugs? yes but we only have a few 4. Will we really be using less water than something like a dwarf tall fescue or other slow-growing, drought resistant grass mixes that could be grown from seed? (In the driest months, in areas that we don't water, the sand is moist 6-10 inches down and deeper.) Carex pansa is native there, forming little clumps separated by feet of open sand kinda like a dog with mange. Will not work as lawn, none of the natives will that we've seen, except maybe Dantonia, but it needs more water than some of the turf lawn grasses. If you wish to try to make a lawn with Dune Sedge make the lawn as small as you can to make the kids happy, put in 'trails' , native groundcovers and shrubs. Wildlife, kids and you will be happy." Here is a link that might be useful: Las Pilitas link

speaking personally, I really hate the hedge-sheared look. Never liked hairstyles that stick-out awkwardly all that much either, unless the kid is creative with paint color and costume. I plant grasses mostly in pots and love natural looking tufts that cascade gently around, even when dry...and try to keep them natural as long as possible. The advantage with pots is that you can move them around - in dormant season cut back what you want - but move empty-looking or hacked-stem perennial pots to a back area, and let the more attractive stuff show...even if just dried forms. For me, today was a time to cut back many dried stems to let new greenery show. But not all! Cute Seed pods were left, and some tall stems for garden architecture. On clumps of grasses, why not try a sneaky _tailored_ approach? It takes only a little more time, but try using fingers to reach in near the base of stems, to separate small sections of dead grass near the base of greenery...perhaps use kitchen shears for dexterity. This way you can cut close to the base of stems, in small less visible sections. Try various angles that match (or contrast with) the different heights and direction of new growth. Is there an aspect of the pot (or setting) that can guide your custom trim concept for balance or natural movement of the eye? Can you make it layered like an indoor floral arrangement - even adding a stem or 3 for temporary interest? Reaching in to section and separate dead grass, and cutting first around taller growth - is a way to use one's Zen Power to just thin, rather than destroy, allowing green or red mystery shoots to appear, and still allow nature to finish the thinning process gradually, as might normally happen during spring storms. Consider it a partnership. Just an alternative...as a way to avoid the ugly stark buzz-cut bunches that look more like vandals have attacked your plants than a gardener - or nature. I say, try a light touch, or let it be till grass is taller...altho I've noticed quite a few others seem to rush through and maul their dried grasses. Like rubber bands around daffodil leaves, I hope it doesn't happen on my street.