Oxalis triangularis tubers update

If you’ve read my blog for a while, you’ll know that probably the staple in my balcony garden is my oxalis triangularis plant, which I dug up from a relatives garden a few years ago. It’s grown and grown and this spring before the plant woke up from dormancy, I decided to split up the tubers over a couple of pots.

Above is a photo of my plant last August, and to the right are the tubers I planted. I admit I was a bit worried that in doing this, I would not get a plant that was as full as last summer, when it was the most beautiful I’d seen it grow, it really was a showstopper. If you want to read a bit more about oxalis, here is a dormancy care guide and here is a post about the process of dividing up the tubers

Here’s some updates from the 19th May:

In the photo above right, the smallest pot of oxalis that is on the far left on the window ledge was grown from a single tuber; I was interested to see how much foliage could come from such a small part of the plant. It’s flourished and flowered too!

But I’m here to report that I needn’t have been so hesitant to divide the plant up in this way, as I now have multiple pots of purple dotted around my space, and none of them look at all bare or pathetic (as I’d thought might happen!)

Here are the plants today on the 6th August (the smallest pot I gave to a friend):

One thing I have struggled a bit with this year though has been caterpillars! As you can see from the photo below, they have enjoyed a nibble at the leaves:

Just a short post today, but hope you enjoyed seeing the progress. That’s one of the things I love about documenting my garden in this way; I find it so rewarding to be able to have a visual record of how things grow. If you have a pot of oxalis and have been thinking about dividing up, I’d definitely recommend it. Just wait until the plant is dormant and you’ll be rewarded with a bountiful bundle of pots come summertime!

It’s also worth noting that people do consider these a weed in the garden, and admittedly they can spread a bit if left to their own devices. But by digging up and planting in a pot, you can make a pretty feature of something that often just spreads around in clumps through the garden. I found the plant flowers much more readily when in a pot too.

Thanks for reading,

Laura 🌿

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