Opinions differ on sour clover. Proponents warmly welcome the dainty plant with its distinctive leaves, while opponents vehemently fight it as a weed. Both parties receive useful answers to frequently asked questions about wood sorrel species.

Most wood sorrel varieties are not hardy

Table of Contents

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  1. Plant sorrel properly
  2. care tips
  3. Which location is suitable?
  4. What soil does the plant need?
  5. When is flowering time?
  6. Cut sorrel properly
  7. Pour sorrel
  8. Fertilize sorrel properly
  9. hibernate
  10. propagate sorrel
  11. Is wood sorrel poisonous?
  12. How to effectively fight sorrel in the lawn?

    13. Plant sorrel properly

    Most sorrel species come from the tropical regions of the world, so they are cultivated as an annual. Wood sorrel (Oxalis acetosella), on the other hand, has a creeping, profusely branching rhizome as its outlasting organ, making this species suitable as a ground cover. Moreover, this wood sorrel has been used as a medicinal and herbal plant for generations. How to plant correctly:

    • In May, choose a spot in the light shade, with lime-poor, humus-rich, fresh, moist soil
    • Dig small pits 12-15 cm apart to enrich the soil with compost
    • Insert the potted young plants up to the lower pair of leaves and water them in soft water
    • Plant bulbous sorrel approx. 5 cm deep in the substrate

    Wood sorrel is often cultivated in a decorative pot so that the leaves are ready to hand on the windowsill for use as a food ingredient. Use acidic bog bed soil as a substrate and insert a drainage made of potsherds over the water drain.

    care tips

    Woodsorrel maintenance regimen poses less of a challenge to the gardener than controlling it as a lawn weed. In order to use the positive attributes as an ornamental, medicinal and kitchen herb, you only need to heed the following aspects:

    • Water wood sorrel regularly with lime-free water
    • Fertilize organically from April to July
    • Wood sorrel and other perennial species in winter protect with needle brushwood and compost

    Tropical clover beauties, such as Mexican lucky clover, are charmingly presented in pots. These sorrel species spend the winter on the bright window sill at cool temperatures between 12 and 15 degrees Celsius.

    Which location is suitable?

    Wood sorrel prefers a location in the light shade, where no blazing sun can damage the delicate leaves and flowers. In the protection of tall perennials and shrubs, the plant feels in good hands. Lucky clover and its conspecifics like to take a semi-shady spot on the balcony.

    What soil does the plant need?

    In order for wood sorrel to be able to fulfill its intended task to the fullest satisfaction, only low-lime soil can be considered. The soil should be rich in nutrients and fresh and moist. In pots and balcony boxes, the plant does its best in bog or rhododendron soil, enriched with lava granules (€13.99) or expanded clay (€19.73) for good permeability.

    When is flowering time?

    The delicate, white or pink flowers unfold in the period from May to June. At this time, the content of ingredients is also at its zenith. After the visible flowers have withered, the hour of the cleistogamous flowers arrives during the summer. These are buds that do not open. Pollination takes place here when closed. In all probability, this circumstance contributes to the fact that wood sorrel is able to spread explosively.

    Cut sorrel properly

    If you cultivate wood sorrel for use as an ornamental, medicinal or kitchen plant, the scissors are only suitable for harvesting the leaves. If, on the other hand, you regard the plants as weeds, consistent pruning buys the clover the edge in the long run. Repeated scything in the bed, mowing the lawn regularly and cutting along the embankment with scissors leaches the plant and prevents seeding.

    Pour sorrel

    Pour sorrel in the bed and bucket only with lime-free water. Collected rainwater or decalcified tap water is ideal. If the irrigation water can be taken from a pond with nutrient-rich and soft water, there is no need to add fertilizer.

    Fertilize sorrel properly

    At an adequate location with humus-rich, nutrient-rich soil, a start fertilization in April in the form of compost, horn shavings (€32.93) or nettle manure is usually sufficient. If there are signs of deficiency, such as yellowed leaves and stunted flowers, apply an organic fertilizer every 4 weeks. In pot culture, wood sorrel likes to take a liquid fertilizer every 3 weeks from May to July.

    hibernate

    The vast majority of wood sorrel species come from subtropical countries and are therefore not frost hardy. Therefore, lucky clover and colleagues are cultivated either in beds or in pots once a year. After the first frost, the above-ground parts of the plant all die off. Nevertheless, the mother plant took care of its continued existence in the form of seedlings and underground runners in advance. Therefore, cover these planting spots in the garden with needle brushwood or compost so that wood sorrel can sprout again next season. Mexican lucky clover in a pot spends the winter on the bright window sill at temperatures of 12 to 15 degrees. Wood sorrel does not tolerate warmer temperatures and direct sun during the winter.

    propagate sorrel

    In order to grow more specimens, propagation by division comes into focus. This method works best with wood sorrel or other perennial species. In spring or fall, dig up a well-established plant, divide the rootstock, and plant the segments in the new location. Direct sowing of the seeds is possible from May if sufficient protection against pecking birds and voracious snails can be guaranteed.

    Is wood sorrel poisonous?

    It is a fairly high proportion of oxalic acid that qualifies wood sorrel as a slightly poisonous plant. If a larger amount of this oxalic acid gets into the human or animal organism, this can lead to symptoms of poisoning. Nausea, vomiting and circulatory problems are to be feared, with the individual overdose depending on the respective physical constitution. For small animals, such as rabbits, there is a deadly danger from sorrel even in small amounts, so this plant is not suitable as food.
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    How to effectively fight sorrel in the lawn?

    Nobody can be happy about clover in the lawn. Since sorrel is one of the particularly stubborn lawn weeds, fighting it is a headache for struggling gardeners. We have put together a brief overview of the most effective methods for you:

    • Remove individual plants with the weed puller in the early stages of infestation
    • Lift out larger patches of clover with a spade and repair with lawn plaster
    • In the event of a clover invasion, mow the lawn short, scarify in a checkerboard pattern, lime and fertilize
    • Cover the lawn area populated with sorrel with black foil for 6 to 8 weeks

    If these four control methods come to nothing, the only thing left is to resort to chemical weapons. Suitable herbicides are Banvel M lawn weed killer from Compo or Anicon Ultra from Celaflor. These preparations put an end to sorrel without damaging the noble lawn grasses.

Category:

Herbs