Oxalis

Oxalis

There are just a few genera where we find that our customers think 'weed'. It is often justified and it has to be admitted that Oxalis does contain some noxious weeds, but it is also a great error to write them all off as there is the chance that in dismissing the bulk, you will miss the few good ones.

We do not grow many Oxalis but those that we do grow are exceptional and we recommend them to you. The rest you can get in your local garden centre!

The genus grows across the whole northern hemisphere and most of the southern. It is tremendously variable. We have a native British woodland species - O. acetosella, but there are Andean alpine cushion plants and tiny S. African gems, wet-growing species, desert growing types, one grown as an edible crop and even a six foot high, shrubby one; O. gigantea from Chile.



Order from Autumn list only.

Oxalis flava white

Oxalis flava white

(syn. lupinifolia)

A variable species found across South Africa, but rarely known in its lovely albino form.

This has wonderfully decorative foliage which forms a tight foil from which arise good sized flowers with rounded, overlapping petals. These are pure white around a small, contrasting yellow centre.

These are vegetative propagations, of a single plant with particularly good foliage found originally in the Cape region of South Africa, around Nieuwoudtville.

Easy in a pot, in a well-drained, loam based compost. It forms a very attractive specimen without getting everywhere, we have not as yet tried this outside.

Oops :- the name is flava not flavum, as printed in our main catalogue, apologies.

Oxalis flava whiteoxaflawhi £4.50
Flowering sized, clonal propagations.

Oxalis gracilis

(karooica of horticulture)

Oxalis gracilis is a species of sandy areas and is found from Namaqualand to Clanwilliam.

Decorative, finely divided leaves sit below flowers that range from almost white (with a yellow tube) through to apricot which are held on red stems.

Oxalis gracilisoxagragra £4.00