Gardening and Lawn Maintenance

[Slim Cognito]

I don't garden any more, I've recently developed allergies, but when we first moved down, Wednesday was weed day. No, not that kind of weed day. That was my day to go outside and pull weeds. Now I avoid it like the virus (seriously, the first day I weeded after COVID panic set in, I thought I had it because of my sore throat and cough. Turns out - just allergies.)

But here's my problem. I live in Florida which means anything will grow if it lands on the ground. It doesn't matter how many layers of top quality landscaping fabric (3-5) you lay down, the weeds will poke through within a few weeks. I still go out and pull the tall, ugly weeds, but in the landscaped area, which has the usual bushes and red lava rock, a clover-like ground cover has peeped through and I like it. It stays low to the ground and I personally like the contrast between the red rock and the light green "clover." So I let it go. It's pretty much taken over in the front door landscaped area. I'm sure the neighbors disapprove. They all Roundup the hell out of their yards, which I refuse to do. I even told one neighbor that Roundup was a carcinogen but they shrugged their shoulders and said "What choice do we have?" to which I responded, "not intentionally give yourself cancer?"

I also have a theory about why dog cancers are so prevalent these days. Almost everyone here has TruGreen or someone similar treat their yards, which, to be fair, look much nicer than ours. But you know those little signs they put out on the day they spray, the ones that say no kids or pets for 24 hours? How many people pay attention to those, especially when you're walking your dog. (Just because a dog walks through the grass close to the street doesn't mean their owner allows them to relieve themselves on it.) But I digress...

So, should I be a good neighbor and pull the clover or let Mother Nature do her thing? One nice thing about letting it grow, if/when I do decide to pull it, it comes up in big clumps, much easier than pulling little individual sprouts.

I do have a recipe for a weed killer made of vinegar and Dawn detergent and it works fine on existing weeds but doesn't stop new ones from growing. Also, it takes a gallon to cover a very small area. So any suggestions in that department are also welcome.

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[Tiredretiredlawyer]

Let the clover grow!!!!!!!!! You will get pretty flowers in the spring and pretty ground cover the rest of the time.

[sugar magnolia]

I can't tell for sure from the photo, but the description sounds like you might have oxalis. If the neighbors bitch, tell them the wood sorrel is intentional. You'll have a field of pretty little pink flowers too. We have a ton of it, and blue eyed grass, in the front yard and we love it. But we also don't give a shit what the neighbors think or we wouldn't have a front yard full of yard art, bottletrees, and porch walls made of old wooden doors, either.

[AndyinPA]

I can't tell for sure from the photo, but the description sounds like you might have oxalis. If the neighbors bitch, tell them the wood sorrel is intentional. You'll have a field of pretty little pink flowers too. We have a ton of it, and blue eyed grass, in the front yard and we love it. But we also don't give a shit what the neighbors think or we wouldn't have a front yard full of yard art, bottletrees, and porch walls made of old wooden doors, either.

Sounds cool!

[sugar magnolia]

I can't tell for sure from the photo, but the description sounds like you might have oxalis. If the neighbors bitch, tell them the wood sorrel is intentional. You'll have a field of pretty little pink flowers too. We have a ton of it, and blue eyed grass, in the front yard and we love it. But we also don't give a shit what the neighbors think or we wouldn't have a front yard full of yard art, bottletrees, and porch walls made of old wooden doors, either.

Sounds cool!

Thanks. We keep the funky stuff in the backyard.

[bill_g]

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It's hard to identify anything in the photo, but here are some of my guesses for clover like plants -

Trefoil
Medick
Clover
Oxalis

My basic philosophy is anything growing where it doesn't belong is a weed. So, potatoes in the rose bed, and pretty flowers in the potatoe bed, are both weeds.

[Slim Cognito]

Thanks for all the feedback. Looking at the photos from Bill, it is oxalis.

[bill_g]

Thanks for all the feedback. Looking at the photos from Bill, it is oxalis.

Then it just becomes a matter of control so it doesn't take over, consume the dog, and put you on the no-fly list. Rather than outright plant killers, you can tinker with the soil pH using lime (dolomite) to raise it, or sulfur (elemental) to lower it. Find some small bags, sprinkle lime in one area, sulfur in another. Water it in, and wait to see if either has an effect. It may take multiple applications to make a determination if the oxalis is enhanced or slowed down without also affecting the other plantings.

[sugar magnolia]

Or you can let it grow wild and enjoy it. Very soft on bare feet, pretty little pink flowers and it smells good when you walk on it.

[Maybenaut]

Or you can let it grow wild and enjoy it. Very soft on bare feet, pretty little pink flowers and it smells good when you walk on it.

There are many varieties of oxalis. We had it as a ground cover in California with yellow flowers. But whatever variety you have, it’ll be beautiful!

[Slim Cognito]

If I remember correctly, this one has the little yellow flowers. And if I let it grow it’s easier to pull rather than trying to get those little sprouts as they pop up. You can grab one clump and a whole thing comes out in one piece so there’s that. I do need to thin it out a little bit, it’s getting to the point you can barely see the lava rock. But I think I’m going to keep it.

[Chilidog]

We have some Vincas that grow along the building foundation that are indestructible. They were originally in a window box that blew down in a late season storm. I tasse the box out but left the dirt behind and the Vincas survived.

They actuslly choked out the creeping Charley that I was trying To get rid of.

As for the lawn, this last winter did a number on it.

[sugar magnolia]

We have some Xincas that grow along the building foundation that are indistructable. They were originally in a window box that blew down in a late season storm. I tasse the box out but left the dirt behind and the Xincas survived.

They actuslly choked out the creeping Charley that I was trying To get rid of.

As for the lawn, this last winter did a number on it.

I need to know about Xinca. Never heard of it, and neither has google, but it sounds interesting. We have vinca (periwinkle) that took over a back corner of the yard but it was intentional on our part to leave it be.

And sort of OT, but after Katrina one of the oddest sights was in the middle of all the destruction, there were flowers of every description growing in the weirdest places. Sunflowers growing through the foundations of no-longer-there houses, roses blooming in the silt piles washed in from the Gulf, pansies and verbena and daffodils blooming atop the piles of abandoned clothing and bedding. It was very strange to see blooming flowers and thriving plants in every nook and cranny among the total decimation of everything else.

[Maybenaut]

If it was this, I had an extra one from the window box and put it in the ground with regular periwinkle to see what it would do. It completely took over.

[Chilidog]

Vinca, yes.

Bad spelling on my part.

[MsDaisy]

We have a bit of a dandelion problem, but at least they’re pretty and the bees like them.

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[Slim Cognito]

When we lived in the midwest, I also refused to poison the dandelions so, whenever they'd pop up, I'd run out and pull the yellow heads off. Once the yard was moved, it was all green anyway.

[Estiveo]

Dandelion wine, sauteed dandelion greens, you could feed the multitudes & get 'em all drunk.

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

The horse farm where Princess lives has butter cups in the early spring. They are beautiful!! Yet they are weeds per the farm owner and provide no nutrients for the horses.

[bill_g]

The horse farm where Princess lives has butter cups in the early spring. They are beautiful!! Yet they are weeds per the farm owner and provide no nutrients for the horses.

True buttercups are noxious to cattle, and the bane of ranchers. Great for the Bees, not for the Cees.

[bill_g]

We have a bit of a dandelion problem, but at least they’re pretty and the bees like them.

Dandelions .jpg

I forget the name, but those aren't the broadleaf dandelions that people get in their lawns. They are a different species, and common around here too. It's opportunistic, and generally an indicator of poor soil. ie: the only thing that can succeed. But, they are a soil builder. So, given enough decades, centuries, millenia, they will slowly be less prevalent as the soil improves from their sucessive generations contributions and grasses take over. Soil building occurs on glacier time scales.

If someone wanted to hasten that process, spreading manures and slit seeding oats will help. It will still take five years or more. The local deer, ground nesting, and seed birds will love you.

[MsDaisy]

I forget the name, but those aren't the broadleaf dandelions that people get in their lawns. They are a different species, and common around here too. It's opportunistic, and generally an indicator of poor soil. ie: the only thing that can succeed. But, they are a soil builder. So, given enough decades, centuries, millenia, they will slowly be less prevalent as the soil improves from their sucessive generations contributions and grasses take over. Soil building occurs on glacier time scales.

If someone wanted to hasten that process, spreading manures and slit seeding oats will help. It will still take five years or more. The local deer, ground nesting, and seed birds will love you.

You're probably right, that photo was taken in 2010 and we don’t get nearly as many as that these days. We also don't get daylily blooms along the driveway anymore. I thought that was something to do with the soil until I saw what was happening. The damn deer eat off all the blossoms before they bloom!

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[Azastan]

The horse farm where Princess lives has butter cups in the early spring. They are beautiful!! Yet they are weeds per the farm owner and provide no nutrients for the horses.

Yes, they indicate acidic soil and (in general) very moist/waterlogged soil. They can crowd out the grass, and grow tall enough that any grass growing gets shaded out too. Horses won't eat them because they contain oxalic acid.

[bill_g]

You're probably right, that photo was taken in 2010 and we don’t get nearly as many as that these days. We also don't get daylily blooms along the driveway anymore. I thought that was something to do with the soil until I saw what was happening. The damn deer eat off all the blossoms before they bloom!

Driveway.jpg

You day lilies look great.

[AndyinPA]

We used to have lots of day lilies, too. But something ate off all the blooms before they opened, too. I thought it might have been the deer, but it surprised me because the deer have been around here forever, but left them alone for a long time.