While the sorrel often adds an interesting facet to the look of the landscape in natural meadows, it is more of a disruptive factor in home lawns. You should fight it correctly so that it does not turn into a fight against windmills.
How do I remove sorrel from the lawn?
To combat sorrel in the lawn, mow the lawn regularly short (3-5 cm), remove plants before flowering and ensure that the roots are completely removed when pruning. Avoid chemical weed killers to protect other plants and animals.
Pull the emergency brake early
Always keep a close eye on the composition of the plants in your lawn, even if you don't value a pure grass area without any herbs. After the summer flowering period, the numerous seeds of the sorrel are distributed by birds or by adhering to the soles of shoes. You can usually easily recognize sorrel in the lawn by its lancet-shaped leaves that grow out of the soil like rosettes. If you wait too long to remove it, the plant may continue to spread through more than just seeds. When they grow for a long time in one location, the roots also form an underground fertility reservoir that is difficult to remove later.
Be careful when fighting with chemical agents
Various chemical weed killers such as Roundup or Weedex can also be used to eliminate sorrel. This approach is tempting in view of the lower effort involved, but even if it is only applied selectively and in a targeted manner, other parts of the lawn will also be destroyed. When it comes to weed killers, always follow all of the manufacturer's safety instructions so as not to risk any damage to your he alth through inhalation. You must also be aware that plant parts in the garden contaminated with these substances are usually no longer suitable for human consumption or for feeding to horses or rabbits. An appropriate distance from the vegetable patch and pet feeding areas should therefore be strictly maintained.
The mechanical control of sorrel in the lawn
Sorrel can also be controlled without toxins, even if this means some work. The important thing is:
- regular checking of the lawn
- the prevention of self-seeding
- cutting out the roots correctly
Sorrel tolerates a low cutting height less well than most types of lawn. So mow your lawn as short as possible to a cutting height of 3 to 5 centimeters in order to fundamentally weaken the sorrel population. Be sure to remove the plants before flowering so that the seeds cannot spread further throughout the garden. The young leaves of the sorrel are also ideal for herb salads if they are not contaminated by pesticides or other pollutants. When cutting out, you should definitely make sure that the roots are completely removed, as root residues in the soil can always produce new plants.
Tips & Tricks
If the sorrel has been established in a location for a long time, its extremely regenerative roots can reach a depth of 150 centimeters. These can be removed more easily than with a spade using a so-called dock cutter (€62.00 on Amazon) from a gardening store.
