[pbs] Rhizomatous oxalis experiences
Jane McGary
janemcgary at earthlink.net
Mon Jun 9 18:55:13 EDT 2008
I agree with Roger that the Patagonian and Falkland rhizomatous Oxalis
species don't tolerate winter wet very well. My best results with them have
been in a part of the bulb frame that gets occasional summer watering, and
in plunged pots under a roof kept along with my small alpines. In nature
I've seen them growing in very peaty, sandy soil near the edge of high
banks and seaside cliffs. One thing I know about them is that they resent
disturbance and have to be left alone for several years before they make a
good show.
Oxalis adenophylla is an easy, permanent garden plant here in the
Northwest. Mostly I have it in crevices in the rock garden. In nature it
grows in scree, especially in low spots where I suppose the snow lies late,
much like where one would see deciduous Lewisias in our part of the world,
or Crocus sieberi in the Mediterranean. I wish we had the color variation
in our garden stock that appears in nature! Many wild forms have much
darker flowers.
I don't know how viable Oxalis seeds remain in storage, but it would
certainly be worth our while to get more of the Andean species into
cultivation. Rose-pink O. squamata, which is fibrous-rooted rather than
having a storage organ, was a delight in my rock garden for some years but
failed to return after one cold winter. It seeds readily and probably
shouldn't be turned loose in a very warm garden. There is one called, I
think, O. compacta, that is very tiny and fuzzy, at high elevations. And
there are a number of attractive very small species in Chile's northern
coastal desert areas, with rather succulent leaves.
Jane McGary
Northwestern Oregon, USA
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