Question by Karen D.
I have Cousin It plants - very healthy - growing well but have a problem with weeds - a clover, and a particular grass that is coming through them quite persistently. Other than trying to remove and eradicate by hand - which becomes quite disruptive and damaging to the Cousin It - is there any other approach?
Sarah's answer
The "Cousin It plant" Casuarina glauca is a wonderful looking plant and looks fabulous in your garden. One of the claims often associated with this plant is that it has a great groundcover effect that can be an affective weed suppressant. However, with anything in the garden there is always an exception and from your photos the clover like weed appears to be oxalis – one of the more determined and thuggish weeds in the garden. The resilience that makes it a good weed depends on the variety. If it has pink flowers, below the ground it has a large tuber, so it has the energy to last a long time. But also attached to the tuber are small little bulbils that fall off easily when attempting to pull out the original plant, creating an even bigger problem of loads of new plants. If it has yellow flowers, it seeds freely and has rhizome stems that root wherever it touches the ground. Even the smallest bit left behind can become a new plant. So, dealing with Oxalis is a long-term battle. Grass can also be an invasive weed in the wrong place (which is why it makes a great lawn in the right place!) and can also be difficult to control in this environment.
To deal with both weeds and any others bold enough to grow amongst your ground covers - excluding the light is a good way of tackling. Obviously, Cousin It’s leaves aren’t excluding enough light so you could consider gently lifting the foliage and laying a weed mat (there are plenty of environmentally friendly options available) under the leaves. All going well over a long period of time the oxalis will fade away. There are weedkillers available, but as it is in such a tricky position it would be difficult to apply without harming the plants around it. The only other option really is to keep hand weeding, however, as you already know, this isn’t all that easy either. I hope this helps and you can get on top of your weedy problem.
Cheers Sarah
