Re: while we're on the subject....



K1MIZE@aol.com wrote:
> 
> In a message dated 1/25/99 4:58:34 PM EST, K1MIZE writes:
> 
> << Can we move one now?
>   >>
> 
> I'm not suggesting we move any "yellow-flowered" Oxalis plants.  I meant to
> say, "Can we move ON now!"  But not before I get the answers to my questions
> on the pink-flowered mystery Oxalis, please.  I have both forms of Oxalis
> corniculata in my lawn.  I tried battling them with chemicals, but ended up
> doing my lawn (and health) more harm than good.  Since then, I find that if I
> keep my grass healthy, it competes well with the Oxalis.  For a while there,
> though, it looked as if I were going to have an Oxalis lawn!  I do like the
> idea of having a diversity of species in a lawn.  My former home in Santa Rosa
> had English daisies (Bellis perennis, for you purists) in the front lawn, and
> I always thought they were charming.  I'd like to hear about other flowering
> plants that can be grown successfully in a lawn, one that is mown quite
> closely and regularly.  Any suggestions?
> 
> Kurt

Kurt,  If you are willing to compromise on the closeness of your mowing
(probably a good idea now that you are in the Central Valley instead of
the gentle Santa Rosa climate), there are lots of other plants that can
coexist with the grass for what I think is a nice effect. Prunella
vulgaris (self-heal?) will creep around and bloom if you cut 2 1/2 to 3
inches. The small form of Trifolium fragiferum (Strawberry clover)
sometimes called O'Connors legume has little pink balls and stays low.
Regular white clover is beautiful in lawns. And around here, Oxalis
rubra makes nice little tufts in lawns and will bloom quickly between
mowings if left a little space under the blades. The much maligned
dandelion (Taraxacum) puts on a great show. (We've had spectacular
single plants by religious deadheading.) One last plant that blooms only
in spring, but wends its way well among the grass blades is Glechoma
hederacea (Gill-over-the-ground??--common names can be quite picturesque
and fun). 

My impression is that dandelion, Oxalis corniculata, and other little
weedy things mainly come up in lawns because there are spots of soil
open to the sky. (They almost all require light to germinate) The common
use of turf-type fescue in California is leading to a lot more of this
situation, and therefore a lot more use of chemical treatments. The
fescues commonly used are dwarf forms of bunch-type grasses, and do not
fill in with rhizomes. As individual grass plants die, there are spaces
that the weedy things are only too happy to colonize. Mowing regularly
is of course preventing the grass from seed production. The obvious
remedy is regular overseeding at the appropriate time of year for that
species. Nurseries tend to recommend 'weed and feed' and other broadleaf
herbicides instead of simple reseeding. Mainly, I think, because the
problem is identified as being the weed rather than the conditions that
encouraged the weed.

I'd love to hear of other attractive invasive things that can hold their
own in a lawn-type situation.

Gary Matson, Far Northern California
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