Garden oxalis: description, features of cultivation and care, photos

• November 21, 2018
• garden plants
• Rezeda Zaripova

Many gardeners prefer to plant bright flowers in their flower beds. However, some of them also use plants that are content and modest in appearance.

These include garden sorrel (photo presented in the article), which does not have large inflorescences and a chic appearance. The plant is quite unpretentious to growing conditions. Tall varieties of the plant are good for alpine slides, and miniature varieties can create a delicate carpet of unusual leaves and small flowers.

Since the 17th century, some varieties of wood sorrel began to be grown not only as indoor plants, but also in garden plots.

General information

Natural protection against pests is one of the main advantages of this plant. No insect likes its sour leaves.

Garden sorrel, unusual in color and shape, has several hundred species. Its official name is oxalis. This heat-loving flower is native to South Africa and is also common in Central and South America. This plant is now popular in Europe. It is grown both in open ground and on the windowsill at home. Oxalis is widely used in landscape design.

Oxalis is a herbaceous plant of the Oxalis family. In addition to its scientific name, it also has folk names: false clover, hare cabbage and sorrel. And in fact, the leaves of this plant are very similar in structure to clover and have a sour taste. And the plant got its name thanks to this property. The leaves of the plant contain vitamin C and oxalic acid.

Harm and contraindications

Common oxalis can be consumed, but these doses should be insignificant, since by its nature it is still a poisonous plant. There are cases where animals died after overeating this plant, since their hearts stopped, and oxalic acid in large quantities had a detrimental effect on the kidneys.

It is not recommended to use sorrel if:

• kidney or liver disease;
• in case of blood clotting disorders;
• for gout;
• if you have problems with the pancreas.

Botanical description

Garden sorrel flowers belong to the genus of annual or perennial flowering herbs. They have a creeping superficial rhizome with bulbous or tuberous growths. The plant grows up to 15-30 centimeters in height. The petioles are 20 centimeters long and have leaflets of a palmate or trifoliate structure. Their length is 5-15 cm. The peculiarity of the leaf plate is that it is folded and lowered in cloudy weather, at night or when there is any physical impact on them. The leaves can be colored green or burgundy and can be single or bi-colored.

The plant blooms in late spring and early summer, and the duration of this period is about one month. A long peduncle grows from the axils of the leaves and carries either one or several buds. The corolla of regular shape consists of 5 petals fused into a tube, with a rounded edge bent outward. Just like the leaves, the flowers of the garden sorrel also close at night. The petals are mostly colored in white, lilac, pink and yellow. Bisexual flowers are prone to pollination by insects and to self-pollination.

The fruits of the plant are fleshy seed capsules of an oblong shape with green valves. They contain drop-shaped small seeds with thick skin.

Four leaf sorrel (Oxalis tetraphylla)

The Mexican species of wood sorrel in Europe has become one of the most popular as a garden plant. Quatrefoil oxalis has a second name - Depp's oxalis. The culture is easily recognizable due to its four-lobed leaves with a brown, reddish or purple pattern on the leaf blades.

The perennial four-leaf sorrel reproduces by seeds and daughter scaly bulbs formed in the fall, which can be eaten. The flowers of this species are reddish-pink, simple, with wide, rounded petals.

Features of the plant

The top layer of the skin of the seed pods contains a large amount of sugars that attract ants. It is they that carry the seeds over considerable distances.

After ripening, the valves of the garden sorrel berry open sharply and unexpectedly and shoot out their contents (seeds) over a long distance.

The plant is very decorative, so it has become popular among gardeners. It is grown in gardens as a border or on lawns, and also at home as a houseplant. In addition, sorrel has excellent medicinal properties: diuretic and choleretic. In addition, it is used in the treatment of various colds.

Benefit

• Oxalis has a diuretic property and removes bile from the body.
• With the help of this plant you can get rid of helminths.
• When using the herb externally, you can achieve speedy healing of wounds and abrasions.
• Oxalis helps cope with inflammatory processes and can also be used as a hemostatic agent.
• The plant helps fight heat and high temperatures.

Varieties

Garden sorrel is a plant that can be an excellent decoration for flower beds, alpine slides and window sills in the house. In total there are approximately 800 varieties. Some of them are intended for open areas, others for growing indoors. Both planting and care depend on the type of plant. Many of them are demanding on location and soil. The shades of wood sorrel leaves and flowers depend on the variety.

The most famous types:

• common wood sorrel, which has small white flowers with pink veins (its leaves are used as food in some countries);
• tuberous oxalis is a variety that grows in Central and South America, where it is grown along with potatoes (there are tubers on the roots, solid green leaves have a trifoliate shape, pink flowers);
• ferruginous oxalis is a fairly winter-hardy variety, growing in spherical bushes and blooming with silvery flowers with pinkish veins;

• nine-leaved wood sorrel is a perennial species that is more demanding of care and has flowers of pink and white shades, as well as long-leaved nine- or twenty-fold leaves of a greenish-silver hue;
• Bouvie's wood sorrel is a fairly tall perennial plant (up to 25 cm) with leathery leaves of a pale green hue and dark pink flowers;
• Depp's oxalis, which has heart-shaped leaves 4 cm long (green with a brown center) and crimson flowers.

It should be noted that the following types of oxalis are best suited for growing in the garden: nasturtium, volcanic, pink, multi-colored, triangular, etc.

Types of wood sorrel with photos and names

There are a large number of plant varieties intended for home cultivation.

Purple or triangular sorrel (Oxalis triangularis)

The evergreen herbaceous plant is known for its unusual color. Triangular oxalis has purple leaves divided into 3 equal triangular parts.

The height of the shoots reaches 30 cm. The flowers are collected in small inflorescences of 3–5 pieces, snow-white, funnel-shaped, with five petals.

Succulent (Oxalis succulenta)

Tall, up to 35 cm, plant. It has a bizarre appearance - thickened short petioles bear small trifoliate leaves at their ends. The color of the petioles is olive-gray, covered with a waxy coating.

The leaves are light green or bronze-green, depending on the variety. This type of sorrel can remain without water for a short time; moisture is stored in the fleshy petioles. It blooms with small yellow flowers collected in sparse inflorescences.

Nine-leaved (O. enneaphylla)

A stemless creeping herbaceous perennial. It forms a dense turf, 8-10 cm in size. The leaves on pubescent petioles are palmate, consist of 9 lobes, are often in a semi-folded state, and are bluish-green in color. From a distance, the leaf resembles a green double flower.

It blooms in May-July with fragrant large funnel-shaped flowers (diameter 2-3 cm). The color varies depending on the variety:

• Alba has white funnel-shaped flowers with a greenish-yellow center;
• Minutifolia is a miniature copy of K. nine-leaved, 5-8 cm in size, with large pink flowers;
• Sheffield Swan - large white flowers against grey-green foliage.

In indoor gardening of winter gardens, greenhouses are used as a ground cover plant, decorating the surface of pots with large specimens.

Deppe's sorrel or four-leafed sorrel (Oxalis tetraphylla)

The perennial's homeland is hot Mexico. The plant is compact, shoots rarely exceed 40 cm. The leaves are complex in shape, consist of 4 identical heart-shaped segments, and are green.

The flowers are attractive, soft pink, with a greenish center. The variety has a long flowering period: from June to October.

Common sorrel (Oxalis acetosella)

A low-growing herbaceous plant with shoots only 5–10 cm in length. The leaves are complex, divided into equal segments, and green in color. The petioles are flexible and have slight pubescence along their entire length.

The flowers are single, large, white with obvious veins. The foliage of the perennial is edible, contains a large amount of oxalic acid, and is used for making salads.

Reproduction

The plant can be propagated by cuttings, tubers and seeds, depending on the variety. Some people prefer to sow oxalis seeds in greenhouses in early April or in special containers in the house. The plant is planted in the ground after spring frosts.

When wood sorrel is propagated by dividing rhizomes and tubers (cold-resistant species), planting should be done in the fall. Heat-loving varieties can be planted after spring frosts. Oxalis is very easily propagated by cuttings. To do this, a part of the stem is cut out along with the leaf and placed in water. When the first roots appear, the seedling is planted in open ground. During rooting, sorrel must be protected from direct sunlight and watered regularly. It should be remembered that this method of propagation is not suitable for all plant varieties.

Caring for oxalis at home

What to do immediately after purchase?

Having brought home indoor oxalis, you need to give it time to get used to the change of environment. It is not recommended to immediately water, replant, or feed the plant.

Important! Indoor oxalis should acclimatize for 7–10 days, after which standard care for the perennial begins.

Illumination

In order for the cultivation of sorrel to be successful, it needs to create conditions that are as close as possible to natural ones. She needs a lot of bright light, but it must be diffused. Never allow direct sunlight to hit the foliage.

Shade tolerance

Oxalis tolerates shaded areas well. However, the grower should prepare for slow growth and inactive flowering if the crop is in the shade for a long time. The leaves of purple varieties may fade from lack of light, so in winter it is recommended to organize additional illumination with lamps.

Temperature

In the warm season, the flower prefers to be at an air temperature of 20 to 25 degrees. In winter, it is removed to a cooler place; if this is not done, then flowering may not occur.

Rest period. Bulb storage

Oxalis requires a period of rest in winter. Some species (bulbous plants) themselves inform their owners about the need for rest; their aboveground part dies off in the fall. In October, the vegetative mass is cut off and watering of the flower is stopped. The bulbs are left in the ground and the pot is placed in a cool and dark room with a temperature of +12–14°C. The soil should not be too dry; if necessary, it should be slightly moistened. In the spring, as soon as the sprouts appear, the sorrel is placed in a sunny place and the substrate begins to be moistened abundantly. the flower very quickly increases its vegetative mass and begins to bloom within 1–1.5 months.

Species whose vegetative mass does not die off in the fall also require relative dormancy in winter. In December, they are transferred to a cool but bright room (or placed closer to the glass, separated from the warm room by a screen. The temperature for oxalis at this time should be +16–18 °C. Watering is reduced, the flower is watered after 2–3 days with cool water.

Does oxalis need feeding?

Fertilizers will help maintain the decorative appearance of the plant; thanks to a sufficient amount of nutrients, the foliage will have a juicy and bright color, and the petioles will not stretch, thereby preventing the bush from falling apart. It is recommended to fertilize twice a month from April to August.

To carry out the procedure, a complex preparation for decorative foliage indoor plants is suitable. You can use drugs in liquid form, for example, Kemira Lux or Fertika.

In order for the plant to grow abundantly foliage and bloom beautifully, regular feeding is necessary.

Flowering period

Under favorable conditions, oxalis usually begins to bloom in April and this process lasts until September. The buds replace each other and the impression of continuous flowering is created. Faded inflorescences do not need to be removed; they do not interfere with the development of oxalis. However, such plants do not look very neat, so the flower stalks can be cut off at the base.

Sometimes oxalis does not want to bloom. This happens especially often in very dark rooms. Solving the problem is very simple; to do this, just move the flower to a bright place, or even better, take the pot out onto the loggia or balcony. Outdoors, wood sorrel blooms profusely and for a long time.

Outdoors, oxalis blooms profusely and for a long time.

Formation of a bush

As they grow, the oxalis bushes begin to stretch out and fall apart. To prevent this from happening, the plant requires regular pruning. About once a month it is necessary to thin out the sorrel, cutting off excess leaves. This procedure will stimulate the appearance of new leaves and the bush will always be neat and fluffy.

Watering and spraying

In the spring and summer, the plant should be watered abundantly, but do not allow liquid to stagnate in the root system of the bush. In the autumn, watering is reduced, and in the winter months, watering should be scanty and infrequent, but the lump of earth in the pot should not be allowed to completely dry out.

Oxalis grows and develops normally without regularly spraying the foliage with a spray bottle. But if the room is very hot and stuffy, then spraying the flower will be very useful; for this, use non-cold pre-boiled water. However, in winter it is impossible to moisten the flower.

How care errors manifest themselves and how to correct the situation (table)

Care

The garden sorrel flower is unpretentious. How to care for it? During hot weather, the plant should be watered regularly and moderately. When overwatered, the underground part of the plant will begin to rot, and the aftereffect can be various diseases (gray rot, fusarium, etc.). The following insects can also damage this plant: scale insects, aphids, whiteflies, red mites, etc. When the first signs are detected, the plant must be immediately treated with insecticidal preparations.

During the growing season, oxalis needs to be watered more often, and the substrate should dry to a depth of 1.5 centimeters, but drying out, as well as stagnation of water, should not be allowed. With the beginning of autumn, watering should be gradually reduced and minimized, and during the dormant period it should be completely abandoned (for about 6 weeks).

Varieties that do not overwinter in open ground need to be dug up in the fall. The following types of wood sorrel are winter-hardy: common oxalis, ferruginous oxalis. However, during frosts, these plants should also be covered with mulch or ordinary spruce branches.

Use in cooking

Oxalis leaves have a sour taste, so they add piquancy to many dishes. They are often added to okroshka, soups, salads, and vegetable stews. Kvass and tea are also prepared from this herb to quench thirst in hot weather.

The dried plant is used more often as a seasoning. Fresh sorrel is added to fish, meat dishes, and drinks.

To make the herb taste milder and release its juice, it is recommended to first sprinkle it with sugar.

Fertilizer

Garden sorrel, planting and caring for which is quite simple, requires little feeding. Any mineral fertilizer intended for flowering plants, or a home-made mullein infusion can be suitable for this. The first feeding should be carried out during the period of foliage growth. Then you need to wait for budding and fertilize the plant again. The third feeding should be done after another two weeks. It is important to remember that the concentration of fertilizer should be half as much as for other garden plants.

Each fertilizing should be done after a small watering of the garden sorrel with water.

Diseases, pests of oxalis and their control

During the growth of sorrel, it can be susceptible to insect attacks and diseases:

Purple wood sorrel

This indoor culture is not at all picky. It is a lush lilac bush with many small leaves of a violet or lilac hue. The flowers of this plant can be yellow, pink or white. This wood sorrel grows up to 30 centimeters in height.

In some countries, this variety is considered a symbol of goodness and good luck, and it is the best gift for the New Year holiday. Among these indoor plants there is also burgundy sorrel, which also looks great in any room interior.

Oxalis triangularis

Oxalis triangular. They began to cultivate it as a house pet only in the last century. This species is unpretentious and interesting in its appearance. The most striking representative is the purple and triangular sorrel. The foliage is dark purple, but areas with other colors can also be seen. There is also the same crop, but with purple foliage. The inflorescences are not large, whitish in color. Read more about this amazing species here.

A little about signs and superstitions

This plant is a welcome guest in any home. Oxalis promises prosperity and peace to the family, protection from omissions and quarrels, as well as good meetings with close friends. The house turns into a place for gatherings and joyful meetings with relatives and loved ones.

There is an opinion that this plant helps lonely people solve personal problems and find their soulmate. It helps get rid of depression and bad mood. In some countries, this plant, as noted above, serves as a good gift, meaning financial well-being, joy and happiness.

Common sorrel (Oxalis acetosella)

The native European species can be seen in coniferous and deciduous forests, as well as in gardens, where the common wood sorrel delights with white or lilac-pink flowers and light green three-lobed foliage. This perennial, unpretentious species blooms in spring and early summer.

The peculiarity of the plant is the presence of ordinary oxalis flowers, shown in the photo, which open above the surface of the ground, and cleistogamous ones, hidden from view under fallen pine needles and foliage. If ordinary corollas attract insects, then very small, 3 mm in diameter, closed flowers are self-pollinating.

Methods of propagation of the sour oxalis flower

Oxalis is most easily propagated by seeds; they are sown in the spring. In the first year of life, only underground shoots and rosettes of foliage appear, and the next season a clump of foliage axils begins to form, and new rosettes begin to sprout from above-ground shoots.

It can also be propagated by nodules. They are planted at the end of February, 7–9 pieces in one container, sprinkled with a 1 centimeter layer of soil on top. Composition of the substance: turf, leaf and sand, in a ratio of 2:1:1. Before the root system appears, after planting, the bush is kept in a cool place with a temperature of 4–9, watered with a small amount of water. From mid-spring the temperature increases.

Nodules can be transplanted into flower beds at any time. For example, you can plant in mid-autumn and get a bush with lush foliage already for the New Year. Transplant several pieces into 8 cm containers, into a substance of sand, earth and compost in a ratio of 1: 1: 2. Before the root system appears, the containers are placed in a place with a temperature of 4–9C, and when growth begins, they are moved to warmth.

When determining the flowering time, it is necessary to take into account that the entire development cycle from the time of planting the nodules can last approximately 45 days. Thus, after transplantation in the spring, the plant will bloom until the end of autumn.

Some varieties can be propagated by both nodules and cuttings; at the right temperature of 24C, they take root in the sand in 19–22 days. In this case, it is necessary to provide shading from direct rays of the sun.

There are some peculiarities when growing this plant. Varieties in which the above-ground part does not die in winter are installed in a moderately cold and brightly lit room (15–17C) and not heavily watered two days later, after the top layer of soil has dried, with a small amount of water.

Varieties whose aerial parts die in winter reduce watering several months before winter dormancy. The soil contains only nodules that can be preserved in a cool and brightly lit place (11–13C). During this period, no special care is required.

The soil should be kept moderately moist, but without drying out the earthen clod. After the first shoots appear, the bush is slowly transferred to a warm place. Flowering occurs after about a month.

Oxalis is a rather elegant bush with beautiful flowering. The plant is suitable for planting in well-lit, cool rooms

At the same time, sorrel has an important difference from other indoor plants: the nodules can be planted at any time and flowering can be calculated by a certain date

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