Yellow Woodsorrel

Weeds

sour-grass, Oxalis europea, Ladies' Sorrel, Oxalis, woodsorrel

Oxalis stricta

Photos

Yellow Woodsorrel4.jpg

Yellow woodsorrel is a common summer annual in cool-season turf. Yellow woodsorrel is one of the latest germinating summer annual weeds. Often, infestations of oxalis can be associated with spring-timed broadleaf weed control applications. The reason is that most spring-timed herbicide applications are applied before the oxalis has germinated. The result is that oxalis is perfectly suited to fill in all the voids left in your turf from where the broadleaf weeds were removed. Once established, oxalis can be difficult-to-control as summer conditions limit herbicide effectiveness.

  • Crops Affected: turf

    Management

    Yellow woodsorrel reproduces by seed from year-to-year. Encouraging turfgrass density in the fall and spring should be fairly effective for limiting the presence of woodsorrel in turfed areas. Yellow woodsorrel is most likely to invade when spring conditions have opened the turf from drought or grub damage. Woodsorrel is a late-germinating summer annual, ideally suited to fill-in voids in the turf during June, July and August.

    Similar Species

    Yellow woodsorrel is one of several trifoliate weeds of turfgrass. Yellow woodsorrel is a trifoliate that, like black medic, lacks the crescent-moon shaped watermark of white clover. Unlike clover and medic, the woodsorrels have deeply indented heart-shaped leaflets. Black medic can further be distinguished from yellow woodsorrel by a center leaflet which has a separate petioliole.

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