Oxalis palmifrons

[BULBISSIME]

I still have no flower, but nice foliage !

[Carlo]

No kidding you've got nice foliage! That's gorgeous...and I haven't seen it before.

[hadacekf]

My plant does not flower also

[BULBISSIME]

We don't need flowers ! Leaves are so beautifull !

[Lesley Cox]

Well yes, the foliage is outstanding but the flowers would be nice too. I've only ever seen one flower, quite large and a very pale pink. It was NOT on my plant. Maybe the secret is having the bulbs very potbound? or maybe some high potash fertilizer or....? Nor have I ever had a flower on the yellow form of O. purpurea which is known as 'Ken Aslet.' (I believe this is called something else now?) Any advice would be very welcome. I assume this is a South African species.

[Lesley Cox]

The foliage of individual bulbs is more attractive than of many, crowded together.

[fermi de Sousa]

This Oxalis is excellent in a pot but is a menace in the garden under our conditions as it runs about a fair bit -
the flowers come before the foliage!
Here are some pics I took in Autumn 2007 - it was the only one to bloom last year as well.
cheers
fermi

[Lesley Cox]

Thanks for the picture Fermi. The one I saw was on Val Robertson's potful, in Timaru, NZ. Is yours in the open or in a pot?

[fermi de Sousa]

Thanks for the picture Fermi. The one I saw was on Val Robertson's potful, in Timaru, NZ. Is yours in the open or in a pot?

This one is in the ground, but hopefully where it can't escape into other parts of the garden. I've never noticed a flower on any of the potted ones.
cheers
fermi

[Ezeiza]

"Maybe the secret is having the bulbs very potbound? or maybe some high potash fertilizer or....? "

Dear Lesley:

                  Not all winter groing South African oxalises have the same requirements but strong sunshine, frost free temperatures (although most can take slight frosts), well drained soil and cautious watering at flowering time give good results.

                  If the are very potbound there will be a general competition for space from mature and offset plants and expect few flowers.

                  Oxalis bulbs of this origin produce normal roots from the bottom of the bulb and adventitious roots all along the buried portion of the stem. Small pots are not the best option and plants respond by trying to go deeper even throught the bottom holes and into the plunge. We use containers 40 cm tall and as a rule we find Oxalis bulbs at half the height down or even deeper.

                   Flowering is a phase that takes place from autumn on. Watering at this period must be careful to extend the season (up to 4 months in some species), only sparingly. If one waters in abundance, the plants pass to the "leaf" phase and flowering is over for the year.

Regards
Alberto

[BULBISSIME]

many thank's for this explainations Alberto.
I also grow them in deep pot, but only 27 cm deep...
and I'll take care of watering next autumn.

ps : whan you say Autumn, is it South african autumn or North hemisphere autumn ?

[Michael]

Wonderfull, i love it! I cannot believe that thing is a parent of those weedy oxalis that use to pop up in any pot and difficult to get rid of!

Is it as easy to grow as the weedy ones  ?

[BULBISSIME]

Oh yes, I find it very easy to grow

[Ezeiza]

"ps : whan you say Autumn, is it South african autumn or North hemisphere autumn ?"


Hi:
     
     It is the general custom when referring to plants to speak of seasons and not of months. When you say autumn for your plants is autumn in South Africa, Australia, Lebanon, California, Portugal, Peru, New Zealand or Iran, no matter to which month of the year you are referring. At least this is what most growers do.

     27 cm deep is a great pot for growing most bulb goodies. Babianas, Sparaxis, Androcymbium, Phycella, Leucocoryne, Ungernia, Rhodophialas, Hyeronimiellas, and a number of others all demand depth.

Best regards

Regards.

[Lesley Cox]

Yes, it's very easy to grow but not - for me and others I know - easy to flower. Thanks Alberto. It seems I need to rethink the whole culture question for O. palmifrons. My summer may not be hot enough and we get the majority of our rain in autumn/winter. I've found this species quite hardy (to -10C). Other species flower so freely that special "requirements" for palmifrons never occurred to me.

It is raining heavily here now (late summer, early autumn) and has been, since early Friday morning. We've had about 125 mms to 8am this morning. Other areas have had much more, and our temp today is predicted to be a max of 12C! Mybe I should put a pot under cover for a higher summer temp and less rain. First O. lobata and Cyclamen hederifolium are in flower this week.