Oxalis

[Log Cabin Pat]

Hi
It is still to hot here for me to start taking cuttings so I decided to repot some of my Oxalis. They have deep red leaves with pink flowers and hardy to zone 6. They have been in the same pot for at least three years. This is the first time I have really looked at the root system, I was surprised to find a few large swelled roots attached to some of the bulbs. What are these? I usually just break off the bulbs at the surface for my new plants, last year I got 40 from five plants, this time I got 150 from 3 plants and 30 large clumps for my stock plants. I feel like I hit pay dirt. The bad part is I can't remember how I planted the bulbs last year, do I lay them sideways just under the soil or up and down with the tip out of the soil?

Thanks
Pat

[Ann B.]

Hi, Pat!

You may not have seen the Oxalis section I did on the web site. Click on the picture in the upper left hand corner of the message board, then click on Oxalis Bulbs by Sections.

The swelled roots you see are there until the bulbs start going dormant. If I understand correctly, you are seeing a fleshy bulbous root that is transluscent and attached to that are the roots.

This fleshy bulb will be there until the bulb goes dormant. You may still see live leaves after this bulbous structure dries up, but its disappearance seems to be an indication that the bulb portion is going into dormancy, and you need to reduce watering them. This is a great time to break them apart and propagate them.

Thanks for posting Pat!

[whitmanpc1]

Hello all..I am new to this forum and am glad I found it.

I am no gardening expert but am a passionate hobbiest. I have been reading that bulbs in general have a dormancy stage. With oxalis, apparently they will not flower as well during this stage. As I have been keeping them as house plants, I am confused as to a few things:

Is it beneficial to allow them to go dormant? Will they come back stronger?

I pulled a bunch out of the soil about 1 month ago and set them aside in a cool, dry place. I took some out of that and planted them again today. Did they have enough time to be dormant? How would I know?

Also, I took about 12 bulbs and put them in cell packs. My thoughts are that they will multiply in there. Should I let that go dormant? Again, how long?

These bulbs all come from a sentimental plant I received 16 years ago. As a youngster I cared for this plant at my grandmother's house when she was unable to. My goal is to put together some plants for aunts/uncles for St. Patrick's Day (and communicating the siginifigance of it).

Thank you in advance for your help everyone!

Kind regards,

Jeff Whitman

[Log Cabin Pat]

Jeff
I have found that there are several different ways to do Oxalis. Last year In the Greenhouse I held the water until all the leaves dried, then broke them apart and planted in little pots. I let them stay dry until about Feb. (still in the heated greenhouse) then started watering, when they filled the pots with roots I planted into a 4'' pot with Osmacote fertilizer. They out grew that pot and I was able to put them in a 5'' tall pot and had really nice plants by the end of May. I have read that they need 14 weeks at 41 deg. after separating and repotting, but I didn't do that last year and they did just fine. I am doing that to some this year to see the difference. I also have some that I have not let dry out and go dormant and they are starting to look pretty bad. I really think they do need to go dormant at some point. They are also heavy feeders, and do best in a shady area. I think 4-5 weeks of dormancy would be enough.

Hope that helps
Pat

54 deg. the 6'' of snow is almost gone

[Ann B.]

Well, I missed St. Patrick's day again! You see, I was teaching kindergarten, and we learned a lot about St. Patrick's Day.

A belated Happy St. Patrick's Day to ALL!

I did a search on Landspro for Oxalis, and there are several threads. I chose to reply to this one because of the specific question that is typical of the ones I get via email.

I went outside and dug up a few different types of Oxalis and took pictures. One day I will have a better camera and better lighting, but for now, I hope that you will be able to see enough in these images to understand what I wish to demonstrate.

The first picture is one of those forms of Oxalis that we commonly call Clover. There are numerous varieties that grow wild in my yard and my flower beds. I don't plant them. They just pop up. Some, like the one in this picture, I actually like and will leave some just for added interest in the bed. The flowers are pretty! It has large leaves and does not seem to be quite as invasive as some of the other 'wild' varieties.

http://www.landspro.com/images/oxalis_clover.JPG

Notice that the bulb the variety in the above image is very similar in shape to the lilium bulb or a clove of garlic. It is propagated and multiplies by bulblets that grow at the base of the bulb scales.

Now, for a couple of my favorite varieties:

http://www.landspro.com/images/oxalis_diff_1.JPG

It is so fun to see that as soon as I brought these inside to take of picture of them, the clover/shamrock leaves immediately folded downward, just the way they do when it starts getting dark at night!

The darker, triangular shaped leaves are from the purple one that is featured under the Oxalis section of Landspro. The elongated, scale type bulb is the bulb that this variety has... It is a type of Oxalis regnellii triangularis. It is supposed to be hardy here, but I haven't left mine outside yet. I also have the variety of Oxalis regnelli which has a purple tint under it's leaves, and the same elongated bulb structure. I call this one 'Purple Oxalis'. Think a lot of people do for obvious reasons....

The darker, more rounded bulb (see pencil point) is the bulb of that the 4 leaf clover with the darker maroon/purple center. Did you notice the 4 leaves? That is so much FUN! This is a large leaved clover and it is propagated and multiplies the same as Lilium bulbs. You can see new bulblets forming on it. This form of 4 leaved clover is Oxalis deppei and is commonly known as 'Iron Cross'.

The translucent, elongated bulbous type root is just that, a root. The Oxalis regnellii triangularis will also form this type of root when it comes out of its partial dormancy.

Right now, my lawn has many, many tiny yellow blooms, and these are growing on the REALLY invasive, small leaved oxalis. I absolutely do not like for that variety to get in my beds, but needless to say that it does, and I spread them every time I disturb the soil. Because it is small, though, mulch seems to help somewhat in keeping it under control.

Enjoy and Have FUN! Spring is really HERE and OFFICIALLY arrives Tomorrow!!!