![]() The sun’s rays will heat up the soil to temperatures lethal to Bermuda buttercup bulbs. To be effective, solarization using a clear plastic tarp treated with an ultraviolet light inhibitor must be in place for no less than four consecutive weeks during June, July or August. ![]() Contaminated soil and the plants pulled up during weeding need to be removed from the garden.Īlthough prevention is the best control method, soil solarization can reduce the bulb population. Voles, which consider Bermuda buttercup a palatable food source, also can contribute to the spread of bulbs, so even if you are meticulous in your garden, you still may end up with oxalis.īermuda buttercup bulbils are difficult to see and are not killed by the high temperatures in the compost pile. ![]() The parent bulb should be completely dried out and most young bulbils too immature to survive. By this time, the parent bulb energy reserves are exhausted. Several passes at hand weeding may be necessary to completely remove this new growth.ĭiscouraging survival of Bermuda buttercup can be accomplished by gently pulling on the plant and removing all of it just as it is about to flower. These readily detach from the rhizome to replenish the soil seed bank.Īnother survival technique of Bermuda buttercup is that, after initial removal by hand, new plants will grow from broken stem segments left in the soil. Each year, after the first seasonal rains, and sometimes before in a dry year, about a dozen ovoid bulbils develop along the length of the threadlike, underground rhizome. Homeowners and gardeners wanting to eradicate Bermuda buttercup face a tenacious, prolific weed that has devised many successful survival strategies. Oxalis, a native of South Africa, is found throughout California up to 8,200 feet and although it is sometimes used as a rock garden ornamental, it’s generally viewed as a chronic nuisance because of the difficulty to stop its spreading ability in flower beds, ground covers and in shrub plantings. It can be seen throughout the Bay Area in the compacted, poorly drained clay soils of yards, gardens, turf, landscaped areas, urban places, orchards, vineyards, fields and among agricultural crops. It’s annoying, to say the least.Ī: From November through April, the bright yellow flowers of Bermuda buttercup, Oxalis pes-caprae - also known as buttercup oxalis, cape sorrel or sourgrass - cluster on the ends of slender leafless stalks. Q: How can I get rid of oxalis in my yard? I pull it out and think I’ve got it all, but it just comes back with more gusto the following year. ![]()
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