I bought some of these bulbs (also knows as Good Luck Plant or Shamrock Plant). Since they are not hardy in my zone and I read you could plant them as a houseplant, I potted them up in 2 pots. Took one to work and one at home in my front (sunny) window. Both sproutedwithin days and grew "clover" leaves on long stems, but they look very leggy and are not filling in at all. Does it take time am I just impatient, or is there something else I should do? I read also that they light bright light (which they also get in my office)
Suggestions would be appreciated!
THANK YOU!
Oxalis bulbs
Mine are in bright Florida all day sun, and are still leggy. I think it's part of the nature of the plant. Keep them contained, you'll never be able to eliminate them once they get started. They fill in by growing billions of little bulb-lettes (for lack of a better word) and resprouting.
Thanks Mary!
I have a burgundy oxalis in full shade on my front porch and it seems to demand more water than some of the other plants in the same planter. It doesn't get very lanky.
I'm in zone 6b. I have the Iron Cross outside and have had it for years. I also have the plain white (it was given to me), and I have the burgundy one also. I like them. {obvious! :) } I keep the white one and the burgundy one in a pot outside in the summer and inside in the winter. They bloom off and on all year. That's why I like them. It's so nice to have a few fresh blooms in winter. They're small enough to put on the table for a center piece.
A white Oxalis - that sounds really interesting. Are you saying white bloom or white leaf? Yes - they could be used to make a lovely centerpiece. I need to work harder with mine when I bring them in for winter. You are right - its so nice to have fresh blooms in winter.
yes, white bloom. I should have been clearer. The burgundy gives a sweet pink bloom and the iron cross more of a coral bloom. I put the white bloomed one in a delft flower pot when it is in bloom--looks really nice.
I received an oxalis as a St. Patrick's Day gift and have kept it in a bright window but it's a little lanky as others have said and has only occasionally bloomed since May. Do I need to fertilize it? I don't see any slow release granules in the pot. Would appreciate any suggestions.
If it is lanky, I would say it could use more light. If you want blooms, give it some bloom fertilizer such as Miracle Grow.
Fertilizing is a very last result for me. Mine gets limp when it needs a drink.
If it's been in the same location and has just started limping, I would say it's water. Put some in the bottom of a dish and let it drink from the bottom of the pot all it wants. It's safer than watering from the top. The plant will take in what it needs and has the choice to leave the rest.
Temps may have risen in the location drying the plant out a little more, or more light is drying the plant out a little more.
If the guess "wasn't" fertilizer, you have more problems that aren't as easy to straighten out.
I've grown some that just seem to be taller varieties... just a few stems in a pot does look leggy until they increase & fill in. I mix them into hanging baskets (my cat likes to eat them, even though they give him sore lips). They look nice with coleus, ferns, begonias...
Glad you brought up the oxalis as I have yet brought in in for winter.
birder17 and critterologist, you are both in the same zone as I. What are you doing with yours over winter? Mine are presently in a large pot outside (up against the house), with some other annuals. And I know I'll need to do something with them in order to keep them over.
I put them in with other things. I had them in with scented geraniums one year, and I loved the look of that, but as I said my cat decided they were tasty. (Oxalis has crystals of something, oxalic citrate I think? that are very irritating to the mouth and mucous membranes... and Eliot is apparently a slow study, eats away at them anyway.)
You could pull them and just let them go dormant over the winter. They're often dormant for a period of time anyway. I'd keep them in *slightly* damp peat moss so they don't totally dehydrate. If they are in their own pot, you could probably just toss the pot into your garage.
My purple oxalis has done so well that the corms are overcrowding the pot. They definitely need to be divided next spring.
They bloom nonstop all summer. I rarely fertilize them -- maybe 3 times a year using a general 3:1:2, not a bloom booster.
I bring it indoors before a heavy freeze (it tolerates light frosts) and treat it as a houseplant, and it blooms sporadically in the winter. I let it go dry/slightly dormant for about a month before I bring it back outside in April. It does get a bit leggy in the winter, even though I keep it in a very bright spot.
I haven't found mine to be thirsty at all. I think I've gone a couple of weeks without watering it.
I've never watered from the bottom. It gets watered from the top like all of my containers. I've never heard of bottom-watering as being "safer." Actually, I imagine it would be the opposite. Wouldn't sitting in water lead to a soaked root ball and eventually root rot?
Thanks for all the info on how you deal with your oxalis. I'm probably on the right track.
I bottom water plants to avoid or at least reduce fungus gnats when they pop up. You're right, though, you don't want to let plants sit in a saucer of water, although sitting in a little water seldom seems to matter. I bottom water seedling flats, and if there's a quarter inch or less of water left after a few minutes, I leave it... more, and I'd need to suck some out with a turkey baster!
Oh, of course! Seedlings! Yes, I definitely bottom water seedling flats.
I have Iron Cross outside in the ground. It does fine. In fact, that particular garden got tilled with extra stuff added back into it. I had taken the astilbe out, but the iron cross hadn't come up yet. It got tilled and moved around, and up it came when the time was right. This plant is in a south garden next to the house and a sidewalk.
The other two, white and burgundy leaved (pink bloom) are in pots outside. I will be bringing them inside to my kitchen and dining area. They will bloom if they are taken care of and have bright light-not necessarily in sun. It's nice to see them bloom in the winter.
One of these days, I may try to grow the other two outside over winter, but then again, it's nice to bring them indoors in the winter.
Just as a side note:
I had my burgundy leaved (Oxalis regnelli triangularis) sitting next to some seed midium in pots outside and they dropped seeds into the pots and I got lots of little plants-true to the adult plant. I was surprised and pleased.
birder17 - That is amazing about the oxalis dropping seed. Who would have thought?
A change in subject, are you familiar with Silver Falls? I have that planted and I keep looking for seed. I feel sure it drops seed as I have seen an occasional start in the spring and it does not winter over. Any thoughts on this? I'm watching my plant for seed to no avail.....
HI Brenda, I am familiar with D. Silver Falls. I haven't tried to collect nor grow it from seed. I do notice the seed is expensive. Usually when seed is expensive, it means it is hard to harvest the seed or hard to germinate and get to an adult plant.. So, I would suggest bringing some in to over winter in a cool, dry place. I'd give it a haircut, so it doesn't have to work so hard feeding all of the leaves. You just want a plant that will "make it" through the winter. Water it about once a month allowing it to go semi-dormant. Try to put it in some sunlight or under some lights. It's pretty tough, so, I think it might make it over the winter with minimal care. It might look sad by March, but I think it might make it. If you have a place to put it, it would be worth a try.
Thanks birder. A big Garden Room with sunshine now and again would be wonderful! Wish I had one!
I've been out and about this morn and purchased some really good used garden books. That should keep me busy on some of those dull cool days.
Enjoy your Halloween! No tricks!
Oh lucky you. Where did you find the garden books?
Found the garden books at a Good Will type store in Paducah, KY. I read one of them last night from cover to cover. My favorite reading is garden books. Imagine that!
Yes, I can't imagine that! :)