I had a couple of yuccas that had foreign plants growing with them. The one had seeds that were buried by a chipmunk (I caught him red handed). The other had seeds that were collected by ants. So basically I ended up with giant sunflowers in one pot and wild grass in the other.

No I don't have issues because I check my trees at least every other day and pull out any weeds before they get very big. The weed you refer to is oxalis. We used to eat it as kids. It is sour tasting.

Keep it clean Mike, in a greenhouse? it's up to you.

I find Oxalis as well in most of my pots, not just the citrus. I pull it out as soon as I notice it.

I got a couple of Opuntia that are infested with weeds. I hope a cold dry winter will do the weeds in.

Clover and oxalis are different plants. Clover leaves are more rounded and oxalis (Shamrock is one) has heart shaped leaves and have tuberous roots. Clover belongs to the pea family and fixes nitrogen in soil and so it is beneficial for organic gardening. Clover is also good sign of soil condition - it is sensitive to too acidic soil. Clover leaves are also very nutritious. I hardly ever see oxalis naturally growing here but many kinds of clover do. In fact I bought seeds of various dutch clovers growing at the edge of our sidewalk instead of grass. It is much prettier with large white and purple flowers.

Having said all that I only take out some of the clover and always leave behind some especially in ground. I think I may have 3-4 different wild varieties in my yard. I like to keep my pots, especially bonsai fairly clean.

Just to add some other "weeds" that I have to deal with:

dandelion, purslane, arugula, amaranth: either disposed or consumed as salad or cooked

others: pulled out asap

I used to love to eat oxalis when I was a kid. Tastes like sorrel. I get it popping up in some pots now and then. I've never had clover grow in my pots, lots of it in our lawn, though :-)

Bringing my plants in today,I found several having the weeds growing in them. Yes,these are hard to get out of pots.

Wood sorrel and spurge are the two the drive me nuts. Didn't have any wood sorrel til I brought it in on a plant. Hate that stuff.

Stupidlazydog, I am surprised you know what sorrel tastes like. Most people I know have never heard of it. I grow huge amounts of it which I use to make sorrel soup.

I take it back. I do have one wild oxalis in my yard. My wife just reminded me she picks most of them out because she does not like them at all.

Vlad: Oxalis is consumed in India too although not very common these days. I remember the "greens" shop would usually give a decent bunchl free if you bought any other greens.

Tropic, how was it consumed?

"Nil13 usda:9a sunset:21 LA,CA (Mount Wash.)

Wood sorrel and spurge are the two the drive me nuts. Didn't have any wood sorrel til I brought it in on a plant. "

Surprised you didn't have any wood sorrel before then ... it is quite ubiquitous. The unripe pods are good ... again more of that tart/sour taste. The pods are actually interesting from a structure standpoint as well. They are "explosive" when ripe. The slightest touch jettisons the seeds as much as 3ft or more.

On my balcony, the typical weeds are windborne seeds like cotton wood, any of the umbrella type seeds (dandelion, et cetera), small maple seeds, or plantlets from Bryophyllum delagoense. (The latter will grow in ANYTHING. )

When I gardened on my balcony, the #1 weed was chickweed, followed by wild oxalis and lamb's quarters tied as #2 (I do know all of those are edible). Since I moved and now have my container garden on a ground-based patio, I don't see much if any of these in my pots outside of occasional oxalis clumps (and not counting morning glory seedlings...lol). I do mulch my pots in any case and that helps a bit.

Vladimir, I planted sorrel in my back garden a few years ago. I haven't made soup from it yet, sounds good, how do you make it? I love the taste of it.

Oxalis pods do send the seeds flying. I've found them stuck to window trim inside quite a ways from the offending plant (I don't always pull Oxalis from pots as promptly as I should).

5-1-1 will allow weeds to be pulled with little more than a powerful stare.

Steve

Steve absolutely correct. With gritty mix it is harder though since it encourages very fine roots. Often the top will snap right off leaving the root mass behind. I hold the base in a pinch, jiggle it with a slight pull to free it out of the soil.

Vlad: I remember oxalis in lentil soups and also ground into paste with spices and then mixed with rice.

No problem - I just pull them out. Any stubborn ones I will sort when I repot the plant.

It's really not that big of a problem to just pull them out periodically.

If you wanted to help prevent it, one idea could be to add a layer of mulch or wood chips over the top.

Yup! I find that the pots with the 5.1.1 mix are not as bad when it comes to pulling the weeds.

But when it comes to my potted plants with stones on top or in a much fiber mix, man oh man is it hard to pull the whole thing up from the roots. Some even grow in between the thorns of cactus and in between plants with more than one plant in a pot. Try pulling one of these out without poking yourself or ripping another plant out while you do it.

These little weeds can have a rootball that fills the whole pot. It's crazy.

I have yet to take a pic of a certain weed that I have never seen before. Funny thing is I kin of like the looks of it ha.

What's worse is that they can grow right under neath your nose without ever realizing it especially when it rains or you don't have to water often, that when you finally get around to checking some of your plants out they've grow huge.

I found a cactus that I barely have to keep an eye on on my flat roof, get this, with a 2 foot crab grass that was seeding and it pulled everything out of the pot when I tried to yank it. How the hell do all these weeds end up growing in a fresh mix on your roof within days? lol

Mike

Mike: From my 'A Gardeners Dictionary' by Henry Beard - best gardening book in my opinion.

Weed: Any plant that will survive at least one week without being watered, fertilized, pruned, sprayed, staked, mulched, misted, dusted, or wrapped in burlap, paper, or plastic.

Funny you should say that. Get this.

I have've had a huge pot empty on my very hot flat roof for two years with very little soil inside. Too lazy to take it down. There is a weed that has taken hold in it that was not waterd for months and in the very hot sun, and it still lives. Ha

Look at the stinking Oxalis in the pot just below to the left deeply planted under that cactus.I've tried trhee times to pull it and it keeps growing back.

YOu should try getting the weeds out of this pot, roots and all. Impossible without pricking your fingers.

This is only a few days or growth after a rain storm.

I really only get weeds in the winter when it rains. During the rest of the year, I limit the amount of water I give the plants, and the weeds die from thirst. My problem is weeds around my avocado, citrus, and bay trees - not in the succulents/cacti.

Lars, do you have any photos to share of some of your plants? Word has it you are pretty amazing at growing and have some pretty amazing plants. I would love to see just a few if you can find the time. Thanks)

Rarely do I see weeds in the pots but keeping them on the deck has helped keep them at bay. The few weeds I've found were the Oxalis and Kahlanchoe mother of millions, I just don't care to have more of it.

Mike, have you seen those long tweezers, about 10" in length? They may be useful around your cacti.

I had this year lots of strawberry, basil and coleus seedlings growing in my containers, I pull them right away as soon as I see them.

I have the yellow wood sorrel (burgundy-coloured oxalis with yellow flowers) as a ground cover in my mostly gravel yard. I saved *one single tiny sprout* from another plant my mom shared years ago, cuz it was so pretty. Now I have ground cover :-P One pot left to seed came up as a giant patch the following year. Probably 40-50 square feet :O

I keep it because it survives, and has such lovely colour. I rarely water, so native plants, (some) weeds and hardy perennials are what my landscape consists of.

In my houseplants/succulents, no bueno. I rip ‘em.

Tropico, are you saying that reall works well? I am getting one if so and thanks very much.

Nancy thank you.

Not more than a few days later, yet more weeds coming up faster than I can count. It's crazy around here!

Yes Mike. It is a very handy tool. The bent tip makes it really useful. You can grab the base of the plant and jiggle the base to loosen the roots and pull it out. Very useful when reaching in tight spaces especially for succulents. In bonsai the back of the tool that likes a little spade is useful to tamp down the soil, smooth it out and tamp down moss on the soil. I have two of them because my wife seems to like it too and it disappears from my tool box from time to time. Come to think of it I have two of most tools.

Forceps work can work nicely too.

I'm a weed-a-phob. They really don't get start before they are GONE. Seedlings from other plants I grow...well, yes.

It is funny, YES I have weeds growing in my pots. A lot of the Oxalis and a tall weed with a yellow flowers and a long tap root if you don't get it out when young you might as well repot your plant. However, I tried planting Stock seed in my pots around my trees and vines this fall so that I can have a wonderful smelling greenhouse and they look sickly and weak. Go figure! The weeds in the pots look strong and healthy.

Wow, Ladylotus, you crack me up . Same here. We are crazy about fragrance.lol

Steven what do you think, should I rip this tomato out of my cactus pot that I just found growing in it after ignoring this cactus for the whole summer. Thanks for your empathy for my pots.lol Crazy what grow in our pots not planted by any of us. Probably squirrels ? Who knows.ha

Here is a petunia that just showed up out of no where, from within my house from the winter.

Surprised. The petunias really look good in there with the jades.

Tropicofancer, I missed you last post! I am so sorry. I am surely going to get one, Thanks a lot.

Paul, I know, I can't believe it. They smell so good too. Thanks

Ladylotus, that's too funny.

Ok not in a pot, but I think it counts;).

I have been putting this chaos off for awhile. I’m gonna have to do something soon because the winter rains are just going to make this weed ginormous.

A closer look.

It’s a prickly mess;)! The base of the weed is right under the cactus. Urgggg!!!

Oi oi oi...those unwanted plants around cactus are the worst. I would used a long handled tweezer as mentioned above or a needle nose plier to get rid of them and save my fingers. Some of those happy accidents like your petunia are just beautiful.