I know that there are some pretty ornamental oxalis plants that exist but in my garden the oxalis plant is hated. I have talked about controlling the soursob variety of oxalis in the past but in this post I am focusing on my other arch enemy the creeping purple oxalis!
It is such a horrible weed, you can control it by digging it out but because it has a mass of stems and roots under the ground it is hard to get it all. If you don’t get it all then it just re-shoots again! We have got some of it in a couple of our ornamental garden beds and it also gets into our pots!
The soursob variety grows in autumn and winter and dies back in spring while the purple oxalis can be seen pretty much all year round in our garden. It flowers in spring and summer and if it’s allowed to set seed it will keep spreading.
One reader of my previous post on controlling the soursob type oxalis commented that it was possible to kill oxalis by spraying it with the insect repellent Aerogard! I tried it over the winter on some of the smaller soursob oxalis weeds and it was somewhat effective – the plants didn’t like it very much! The bigger soursob weeds were harder to treat because they would have taken a lot of Aerogard.
I did find however that it was excellent in controlling the purple oxalis weed because it tends to grow in smaller patches. When I sprayed the purple oxalis with Aerogard you could see an immediate reaction and within a few minutes the plant would start to shrivel up.
It only took a quick spray of Aerogard to do the job and within a few days the purple oxalis l was dead. It seems to work best if you can do it when the plant is in full sun. In the cooler damper weather the purple oxalis would start to recover so I just gave them a second spray a couple of days later and that did the trick.
I would not advise spraying Aerogard on purple oxalis that is the vegetable garden but it seems fine to use it in an ornamental garden. I try not to get too much on the other plants but so far it hasn’t affected any other surrounding plants.
It does make you wonder about spraying it on yourself to keep the mozzies away though!
If you want a bit more information on the purple oxalis (also known as creeping woodsorrel) have a look at this link.
Hi, I'm Kaylene, and I'm a keen gardener,budding baker and wannabe DIYer!
After reading your article which was recommended by a friend I tried the aerogard and presto yellow and purple both died. For the larger oxalis it did take a second spray. Thankyou so much for sharing this article I will be telling others I know
Thanks for the feedback Joy, I’m glad that the aerogard worked for you! I found that some of the purple oxalis that I sprayed did sprout again. So I would recommend keeping an eye on it and giving it a quick spray if you see it popping up again!
Good Afternoon
Do you know if hot water will kill the Oxalis weed as well as the bulbs? I have both types of Oxalis in the garden. I have tried all methods, sprays, digging out the whole plant, sifting soil and recently boiling water in one small area. The water killed the plant instantly, the day after application there was no sign of the plant but I don’t know if the bulbs would die or regenerate a new plants.
Hi Marilyn, I doubt that hot water would kill the oxalis bulbs but anything is worth a try! Oxalis would have to be one of the worst weeds to have in the garden, so hard to get rid of, especially when it is coming up around other plants. I might give the hot water a try where I can and see how it goes, let me know if you have any luck!