alpine invasion
Alf Parker
Posts: 4
Can anyone name this plant for me? Sorry - looks like it's got slightly compressed lengthwise when resized by the site. My wife calls it "mind your own business" which almost shortens nicely to "my yob" - it's tiny but is a bit of a yob and I believe it is actually an oxalis. I have only found images of what may be a red form behaving like this one on the RHS site. We stupidly bought the plant in a tiny pot years ago. Initially it seemed like a nice little plant if a bit invasive and in need of control amongst other plants in the border. A year or two later, its roots had travelled under both gravel and concrete paving to establish itself in the lawns. I've eradicated it in the borders by digging out all the roots - not possible in the lawn without losing the grass. It is impervious to lawn weed killers and is only kept under some control by hand weeding every year but it comes back with a vengeance each time. Has anyone else had trouble with it?
Alf
Posts
Alf, this is what I have always known as 'mind your own business'. I think yours is an Oxalis; hard to get rid of as there are tiny rhizomes(?) or some such that get left behind in the ground when you try to get rid of it. Hope someone has a suggestion for you
Slow replying again - my ISP has been down for last couple of days - don't know why I stick with Supanet! Thanks for confirming my suspicion that it's an oxalis. I think you're right about the rhizomes - any bit of root left behind grows again. Probably I just have to live with this stuff and spend a few hours each year trying to keep it in check.
We have a similar Oxalis with white flowers, but the leaves tend to be reddish rather than green. Weedkiller does work, eventually.