Yellow Woodsorrel

This perennial weed can be identified by its leaves with 3 heart-shaped lobes, small bright yellow five-petaled flowers, and "okra-like" seed capsules. Yellow woodsorrel (Oxalis stricta) reproduces by seed. As the seed capsules dry, seeds are forcefully ejected out. This weed invades thin, bare turfgrass areas.

Control: Handpulling can be done if the soil is moist. When the soil is dry, plants tend to break at the roots resulting in regrowth and new plants. Maintain a dense healthy turf that crowds out weeds naturally and reduces the chances for invasion. Apply a two- to three-inch layer of mulch to ornamental bed areas to suppress germinating weed seeds. Herbicides are available depending on the crop grown.