GardenBanter.co.uk

In article ,
(Fetz the chemist) wrote:

I have started accumulating a few oxalis plants, false shamrock with
green leaves and white flowers and the similar looking purple leafed
and pink flowered species. I think they are O. triangularis and O.
Purpurea or something like those names. Does anyone have a
recommendation of other species to get and places to order from?

I have only a few oxalises, & quite love them. I even like the invasive
wild ones & don't regard their inevitable presence as a burden, but of
course the more exotic types that aren't invasive are more pleasing still.
I'm afraid because there are some that invade throughout gardens that the
nicer "tamer" varieties get an undeserved bum rap, & more people would
love them if they gave them a chance. Here are the ones I have; I would
recommend all but the fifth one:
Oxalis adenophylla
Chilean sorrel or Pink Carpet Shamrock. Even when not in flower this is
amazing looking. The leaves are strongly pleated which makes them look
like a ruffly circle, not instantly recognizabel as oxalis. When they
bloom, pink flowers with red veins nearly hide the silvery-blue
ruffle-leaves. Needs sharply draining sandy soil but regularly watered, in
sun or bright shade. Very cold-hardy, not heat-hardy.

Oxalis deppei "Iron Cross." Picture he
http://www.paghat.com/oxalisdeppei.html
Huge shamrock leaves green & maroon, the maroon forming the iron cross
pattern. Bigger than average pink flowers. Moist soil in full sun to light
shade.

Oxalis oregana, evergreen form
Oregon Oxalis, sometimes called "Redwood Sorrel." Local native variety.
The pink-flowering evergreen form spreads quite slowly & is not invasive;
it gets tatty in winter but never fully vanishes. Most that is sold is
deciduous, white-flowered, & spreads more rapidly, but get the evergreen
form if you've a choice. Moist soil, bright shade.

Oxalis siliquosa "Sunset Velvet." Picture of this one he
http://www.paghat.com/oxalissunset.html
Pink buds open into yellow flowers. Leaves are orange, pink, red, yellow &
green, extremely colorful. Bright shade.

Oxalis corniculata var. atropurpurea
Creeping wood sorrel. Self-seeding annual. Major weed, I doubt anyone ever
planted this on purpose, but many people have it just the same. It's one
of the types that give oxalis a bad name. But even so, awfully pretty.
Very purple leaves; very yellow flowers; doesn't really displace other
plants but weaves around them, so seems harmless as weeds go. Usually a
creeper staying close to the ground, yet I've seen it climb two feet into
shrubbery from below, in order to bloom in the sun. Lasts longer in moist
shade, but I've seen it erupt & blom in sunny dry locations, rapidly
seeding & dying.

I'm undoubtedly going to add other varieties to the garden as I encounter
others, if they're sufficiently different from ones I've already planted.

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/