Oxalis Charmed® Wine

Description

The clover-shaped leaves of oxalis are beautiful both in the garden and when grown indoors as a houseplant. Charmed® Wine boasts reddish-purple with green stems and creamy white and chartreuse blooms.

Planting Tips

Whether in the garden or a container, oxalis prefers full to partial shade and a soil that is humus rich and moist but well-drained. Keep oxalis consistently watered and fertilize once a month with an all-purpose liquid fertilizer. It is a tender perennial cold hardy to zone 8, but it can be overwintered indoors quite easily. In fact many people grow oxalis as houseplants year round. Indoors keep the plant in a location with bright, filtered light and low humidity. Oxalis go into a semi-dormant period in winter so go light on the water and don't fertilize.

Suggestions

I think the delicate foliage of oxalis looks best when planted en masse. And when I say en masse I mean it. In a clients garden I planted a drift of 35 oxalis behind a border of Dolce® Creme de Menthe heucheras and purple torenias. For photography purposes I needed immediate impact so I spaced the plants just under 10-inches apart. You can achieve the same look but allow the plants more room to grow by spacing them 14-inches apart. On a smaller scale try potting up a container with oxalis. Again, pack in several plants for a striking monochromatic focal point.

Some oxalis are considered quite weedy, but the variety Charmed® Wine is much better behaved. It is clumping rather than spreading so you don't have to worry about it roaming beyond its borders.