By DoMyOwn staff
Oxalis a fast growing summer weed that produces colorful flowers and can threaten your turf grass for water and nutrients.
Oxalis, also known as wood sorrel, is fast growing plant that produces colorful flowers in summer. While some are grown for their ornamental qualities, other varieties including yellow wood sorrel and creeping woodsorrel, can threaten your turf grass for water and nutrients. You can eliminate these weeds in your lawn and landscaping with the right products and know how.
Oxalis, also known as wood sorrel, stays close to the ground, but produces stems that can grow as tall as nine inches. Oxalis leaves have three smooth-edged, heart-shaped, 1/2-inch-wide leaflets, each with the curves of the heart growing away from the stem. These weeds can be confused with clover, which produces more circular leaves, and black medic, which displays slightly longer, oval-shaped leaves instead. The most common oxalis weed variety is yellow woodsorrel, which produces small flowers.
Oxalis weeds spread easily by seed and by underground growth of roots called rhizomes. Manual removal is difficult, because even a small, severed piece of a rhizome or stem can result in new weed.
If you already see oxalis weeds in your lawn, use a selective post-emergent herbicide to get rid of the existing weeds. Products with the active ingredients Triclopyr, Atrazine, or Dicamba and 2,4-D are good choices for fighting oxalis weeds. Make sure you select a product that is labeled as safe for use on your grass type and in your region, as most of these active ingredients work best with specific turf types.
If oxalis weeds have already emerged in ornamental beds and landscaped areas, you should apply spot treatments with a non-selective herbicide containing the active ingredient glyphosate. Repeat treatments may be required to eliminate this persistent weed.
Before getting started, make sure to put on your PPE, personal protection equipment, including chemical resistant gloves, long sleeves, long pants, socks, and closed-toed shoes.
Follow the mix ratio and instructions listed on the product label in a handheld or backpack pump sprayer. You can avoid missed spots or uneven coverage by adding a dye indicator solution to your tank. Apply the mixture evenly over the affected areas.
The best time to apply is when there's no rain in the forecast for the next 24 hours. Wait two days before and two days after your herbicide application to mow your lawn.
Pre-emergents including the active ingredients Prodiamine and Isoxaben are great options to prevent Oxalis seed germination. It's ideal to apply a pre-emergent weed preventer in the fall before the first frost hits, and again in the spring after the ground has thawed, but before soil temperatures reach 50 degrees, when germination can begin.
You can boost your lawn's defense against weed growth by maintaining a healthy lawn and removing unwanted stress on your turf.
We recommend performing a home soil test to learn which nutrients your soil may be lacking. You can then select a lawn fertilizer or soil amendment to supply the missing elements to your yard. Mowing your lawn at the recommended height can also help your lawn fight weeds more effectively. Our lawn care guides at DoMyOwn.com can help give your grass what it needs to thrive.
Always make sure that any product you use is labeled for use on oxalis and read the entire product label before you begin.
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