Q: I’m trying to create a garden here in Berkeley, but the oxalis plants are taking over my entire yard! No matter what kind of adverse circumstance I create for them, they just keep multiplying like crazy. How do they manage it? What is the secret of their reproductive success?

A: Oxalis pes-caprae, a native of South Africa, has been a “weed” for many years in the Bay Area. The secret of its success lies in its reproductive strategy: Though the seed appears to be sterile, the underground bulb multiplies rapidly year after year as it has no apparent environmental limitations here in the mild West. Control measures vary from organic to synthetic-chemical, and I can only inform (not recommend) you of those in brief: (1) continuous extraction, (2) heavy mulching, (3) applying a herbicide prior to flowering, and (4) some combination of the above. Ultimately, it may come down to learning to live with a certain, hopefully manageable, amount of the little beast.

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