Oxalis, White Oxalis, Wood Sorrel 'Alba'

This has been hardy for me in two gardens in Zone 6a.

A beautiful plant that produces plentiful good pink flowers in shad...Read Moree from early summer till frost! There are forms in a range of colors from white through pale pink to mid-pink. In the Southeastern US, this is a common pass-along plant, though the pink form is more commonly encountered.

This does not normally go summer dormant in New England. The attractive foliage resists light frosts and is only reluctantly deciduous here. In warmer climates, it is evergreen.

I have not found it to be either aggressive or miffy. I lost it one exceptionally cold winter when day temps didn't rise above the single digits (F) for over six weeks. Not hard to find by mail-order. HIGHLY recommended.

This plant forms a tidy round clump for me about 8" high and a foot wide. I have never seen it self-sow, and growth of the finger-like rhizome is slow. Identifying oxalis species can be a challenge, and some species can be nasty weeds, but not this one. I think it's unfortunate that some people condemn an entire genus because it includes a few weedy species.

This plant originally comes from Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil. In US nurseries, it is most commonly listed as Oxalis crassipes. Technically, it seems that the currently accepted botanical name of the plant under consideration is Oxalis articulata ssp. rubra f. crassipes, although you will find this plant listed under a dozen or more different names. These might include Oxalis rubra 'Alba', Oxalis rubra 'White', Oxalis crassipes, Oxalis crassipes 'Alba', Oxalis articulata 'Alba', Oxalis articulata 'White' and many others.

I have long enjoyed the Rosea form of this Oxalis.
This past Winter I got a pot of the white one, Alba, and am growing it on my pa...Read Moretio.

So far it is a blooming machine.
It has been going non-stop for over three months with no signs of slowing down.
In fact it has outgrown two pots in that time.

This is NOT an invasive Oxalis -- but a well-behaved clumper in my experience.

I will be able to trade this one.

This is a very pretty plant and easy to grow. It is not invasive here. Needs to be watered if you don't get much rain. I am going to mov...Read Moree mine to part sun, part shade. My DS grows it in full shade. I think mine will do better in at least part shade even though it says it can take full sun.

I am putting this negative here to serve as a warning for people who live in areas, like I do, where oxalis can become extremely aggressi...Read Moreve.

Oxalis has multiple bulbils that are exceedingly difficult to get rid of, plus (from what I've been told), the plants seed if you let them go to flower. I have handpicked our garden beds for several years now to remove oxalis bulbils, and have even screened the soil with a fine sieve. But the plants just keep coming back. As I don't use chemicals, I end up spending most of my valuable gardening time weeding out these pernicious plants. Oxalis looks lovely in the woods or in a pot, but in my garden beds it's a royal nuisance, crowding out my other plants and spreading faster than a new virus.

Before planting this in your garden beds, I would strongly advise you to ask local gardeners or nursery personnel if this plant is an aggressive spreader in your area. If so, do yourself a favor and keep it in a pot.