Pink Oxalis

Recently I wrote an article about Yellow Oxalis and gave an idea of how to control, if not eradicate it. I also mentioned that were other varieties and colours of oxalis that you could buy in Nurseries that was not as invasive. Unfortunately not all agreed with me.

My sister wrote, “Your email about Whimpy and Bluey (Mismatched or complimentary?) was very good, so was the one about the oxalis. (Oxalis and how to get rid of it.) One question though, what about other people who give you a beautiful bright pink clover like plant from a nursery they once worked in before he going over seas. As pretty as it is it is a bloody nuisance taking over the whole flower bed given half a chance these many years since?”

During my Bible collage days, some 3 years before we did finally go overseas, I did some summer work at a plant nursery and brought home a few free plants that had been thrown out by the owner. Some of these I shared with my parents and my sister. Nice sharing guy aren’t I? Giving away plants that had already been given to me at no cost! Anyway one of these free plants was obviously a pot of Pink Oxalis, and obviously it went to my sister’s, and now some 20 years later, has outgrown its welcome.

My reply to my sister’s above e-mail, was along the lines that she can dig some up and pass them onto me, as I still think them very impressive and worth having. However I will not make the mistake that she made and plant them in the garden, but rather plant them in a pot or even pots and keep them where they can not spread beyond the limits I will place on them. That way I hope to have the best of both worlds. Able to enjoy there beauty, whilst reducing the risk of adding another invasive plant into the open garden.

The moral of the above story is that although some thing is pretty, it doesn’t mean that it comes with no risks involved. Sure those risks may take some years to come to the fore as a problem, but they usually do at some stage or another. So when we do see problems starting to occur, we should do something about them before they do get out of hand and become a major problem.

Secondly, we can and should learn from the experiences of others who have walked down the same (in this case, garden) path earlier. Hence I will plant my (future) pink oxalis in pots and not in the garden, learning a major lesson from my sister’s previous experience.

How open are you to advice from others? Especially those younger than you, like my sister? Remember we can learn from everyone, young or old, if we are prepared to listen.

We won’t always follow all the advice given but we should listen and analyze what we are given and make a valued decision on what we have heard. What say you? Walter