oxalis care
Tips

Grow your own Oxalis Triangularis Tuber!

The Oxalis Triangularis tuber is easy to grow at home, once she reaches her mature form, she looks like a thousand butterflies! Isn’t that wonderful? What makes her even more amazing is that she is considered to be a symbol of luck in different cultures, think of feng shui and St. Patrick's Day. This is also where she got one of her nicknames from ‘False Shamrocks’, but you might also have heard about her other nickname ‘Wood Sorrels’. She comes in a variety of colours, like purple or green and can also produce endearing flowers, which tops her cute look. Are you excited for this plant? Let’s get into how to grow and care for this pretty lady. :)

Prepare her house

Once you have received your Oxalis tubers, you have to decide how you will plant them. You can plant multiple tubers in one pot to make a full plant, but one tuber per pot will also work. She would prefer a pot with drainage holes, so either a nursery pot, terracotta pot or any other pot with holes in the bottom. You can always place this inside an ornamental outer pot if you prefer that look. You can fill up your pot with a soil mix of soil and peat. This helps the soil to stay moist, without it becoming too soggy. A perfect condition for the False Shamrock plant!

oxalis care prepare home.jpg

Time to plant those tubers

You can place the tuber vertically inside the soil, with the thin part up. If you are placing multiple tubers inside one pot, you have to leave about an inch between the tubers. This will give them some space to grow. Once you are happy with how your tubers are placed, you can cover them with a very thin layer of soil.

Tender, love, care and a little bit of patience

Once you have planted your tubers it's time to wait for sprouts to appear. This can take between 3-6 weeks. We know that it might take some patience, but it will be so worth it in the end!

Oxalis plant purple.jpg Photo by: @Plants_itsavibe & @Plant_lady_loves

Find a good spot

Your Oxalis tubers are not seeing any light yet, but would love to be able to grow inside bright indirect light. Lower light conditions are something that she can tolerate, but could make her colour become pale, which would be a petty. She loves a stable temperature, between 15 and 21 degrees and an average room humidity will be great for her. You can water her whenever the top part of her soil feels dry, add some fertilizer during the growing season to your watering routine. You can add some PLNTS nutrition to your water each month, to provide your plant with the amount of energy that she needs to grow big.

Bloom baby bloom

The Oxalis blooms from June to August. Her flowers can vary in colours from white to pink. An extra cute addition to your lucky Oxalis plant. Oh! Another special ability of the Oxalis is that she can close and open her leaves. She does this when her surroundings change, for example when it starts to become dark. Expect her to pose for you from day to night so you can enjoy her from different angles!

oxalis bloom.jpg

The circle of life

All good things come to an end, sort off. Your Oxalis plant will go dormant around fall, which means all her foliage starts to die. Don't worry, this doesn't mean your tubers are out of order. You can cut off all the dead foliage and move her to a dark spot to keep her safe. You don’t have to water or fertilize her over this time period. New growth should reappear after a month or longer, this is the time that she can be placed back in her bright and comfy spot.

This is everything you need to know about growing your Oxalis at home! If you are growing one, we would love to be updated about their growth on Instagram. You can tag us with the hashtag #PLNTS, so we can enjoy this lovely plant journey with you guys! If you have any questions, don’t be shy to send us a private message on Instagram. :)

Lisa
Lisa

Meet Lisa: our plant enthusiast! With her photos and creative flair, she brings the joy of plants to life. Get ready for her newsletters to brighten your day. She is here to inspire your plant journey!

February 21, 2023
Hi, I'm Emma, your PLNTS.com guide!

Hi, I’m Emma, your PLNTS.com guide!