Re: Oxalis and other horrors
Liz Runciman wrote:
>
> This is a hideous pest, however I think Tradescantia (sorry don't know the
> species of the wretched thing) and Vinca major are WORSE. At least if you
> go on grubbing up oxalis it eventually admits defeat - tradescantia, NEVER.
> I recently read an article in a garden mag about an NZ couple who had it in
> their garden and it took them something like 5 years of hand weeding to get
> rid of it. These 2 plants and ivy seem to regard glyphosate as a fertiliser.
> Also no one seems to've mentioned Tecomaria capensis. Just try and get rid
> of that - I misguidedly planted it as a screen 10 years ago. However,
> fingers crossed, I don't have convolvulus YET.
>
Liz
I fight a constant battle with tradescantia also, but class it just a
little below bindweed in pestiverousness because of its wholly surface
activity. You were remarking however about its disdain of glyphosate,
but it was the effect (or rather NON-effect)of another weed treatment
which really threw me. I was giving a gardening class and wanted to
demonstrate a lightweight gas torch I had recently acquired. Casting
around for something to work on I noticed a plastic sack full of
tradescantia and took this along. Well, when the time for the demo came
we adjourned to the carpark and I duely spread out the tradescantia
stems and played the flame over them. To my utter astonishment the
blessed thing never turned a hair. You would have thought it was made of
fireproof ceramic for all the effect the heat had on it. "Ah well" I
said "we will leave it till the end of the class and by that time I am
sure it will be withered" - no such luck. It still looked as healthy as
ever and next day you would never have known it had been near anything
hot (Superweed maybe!! perhaps we need some green cryptonite to attack
it). This is one of the few weeds (along with the bindweed) over which I
admit myself defeated and simply take them to the local dump.
Moira
--
Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz>
Wainuiomata, New Zealand. (on the "Ring of Fire" in the SW Pacific).
Lat. 41:16S Long. 174:58E. Climate: Mediterranean/Temperate
