The oxalis plant, or oxalis, is a representative of the acid family. It includes annual and perennial grasses found in many parts of the world. Oxalis can be found in the south of the African continent, in Europe, as well as in Central America and South American countries: hot Brazil is considered the birthplace of Oxalis.
Both names of the plant are associated with the sour taste of its leaves, which are rich in vitamin C and oxalic acid. In total, this genus includes up to 800 different species, some of which are considered domesticated. The Irish have a special love for oxalis: after all, oxalis, like clover, is considered a shamrock - a symbol of the country and St. Patrick's Day. One of the types of sorrel is four-leafed, due to which its bushes are sometimes called "clover of happiness." Another name for oxalis is "hare cabbage" - although other herbs can also be called so.
It is not difficult to grow sorrel at home, while the flower is very decorative and useful. The foliage is very rich in vitamin C and other valuable elements, which is why such plants are considered medicinal.
Description of acid
The variety of oxalis is large enough; this genus includes plants with different structures. In particular, oxalis bushes can develop from bulbs or tubers. Their foliage can be trifoliate or palmate. The leaves are located on petioles and have a bend. The leaf blades are sensitive to light and, with the onset of evening, fold up until the morning. Because of this, the plants are sometimes called "day and night". The foliage can also react with touch or too bright light. The color of the leaves includes not only the usual green color, but also purple and burgundy tones.
During flowering, simple medium-sized 5-petal flowers of pink, white, lilac or yellow color appear on the bushes. Like leaves, they close in the evening or in rainy weather. The flowers do not last long, so the plants should be periodically cleaned of wilted flowers. Oxalis sensitivity is also transmitted to its fruits. Ripe fruits crack and spill seeds at the slightest touch.
For growing in a hot pot, they usually use a triangular and four-leafed sour - the same "lucky clover". In European countries, such plants are considered a good New Year's gift: according to one of the signs, oxalis brought into the house the day before the holiday promises its owners happiness.
Brief rules for growing sour
The table shows brief rules for caring for sour at home.
| Lighting level | The flower prefers good lighting: bright but diffused rays are required. |
| Temperature | The temperature during active growth should be about 20-25 degrees Celsius, during the rest period - about 15 degrees. |
| Watering mode | In spring and summer, watering is carried out up to 3 times a week, the rest of the time - less often. |
| Air humidity | Normal room humidity will do, spraying is necessary only in the heat. |
| The soil | Growing titanopsis requires loose and light soil. You can use succulent substrates or use a mixture of sand, leafy soil and drainage elements. |
| Top dressing | Growing bushes are fertilized every 2-3 weeks using mineral compositions diluted in half. |
| Transfer | Actively growing acid lilies are transplanted every spring, adult plants - 2-3 times less often, if necessary. |
| Bloom | The period for the appearance of flowers is at the end of spring. |
| Dormant period | The dormant period lasts about 5 weeks after flowering is complete. |
| Reproduction | More often - tubers or children, less often - cuttings or seeds. |
| Pests | On weakened plants, scale insects, aphids or spider mites can settle. |
| Diseases | Most often, due to overflow, rot and fusarium arise. |
Caring for sour at home
Lighting
Even if oxalis grows at home, they try to provide it with conditions close to natural ones. Such flowers prefer bright, but diffused lighting - usually oxalis live in forests and are considered very shade-tolerant. Do not expose their leaves to direct rays - because of this, burn spots may form on the foliage. But the intensity of the color of the sourwood foliage, as well as the timing of its flowering, largely depends on the degree of illumination.
Oxalis will grow best on western or moderately shaded southern windows. On the north side, flowers may require additional lighting. In full shade, the bush becomes more lethargic and paler.
Temperature
In spring and summer, when oxalis develops most actively, it is kept at room temperature - 20-25 degrees. Sometimes for the summer, pots with oxalis are transferred to the garden or to the balcony, but too often you should not rearrange the container with the plant.
In winter, it is recommended to remove the pot with a bush in a cool corner (no more than 18 degrees), otherwise you can not wait for flowering next season. It is not worth lowering the temperature below 12 degrees - this will lead to a complete cessation of the growth of oxalis. At the same time, different varieties and types of sour cherry can retire at different times. Planting should be protected from drafts.
Watering
Well-settled or boiled water at room temperature is suitable for watering. Oxalis is considered a mesophyte and prefers moderately moist, but not waterlogged soils. During the period of growth, the bushes require especially moist soil - acid woods will not tolerate a long drought. As a rule, in the summer, watering is carried out 2-3 times a week, but moisture stagnation at the roots should not be allowed. In autumn, the volume of watering is gradually reduced, trying not to dry out the soil clod completely.
Humidity level
Usually, high humidity is not required for growing acid. Bushes develop normally without additional procedures to moisturize it. The exceptions are periods of particularly dry and hot weather. In stuffy weather, you can spray the foliage with moderately warm boiled water, trying to prevent the sun from shining on the bush at this time. In winter, when oxalis is cool, such procedures are not performed.
Pot selection
The roots of the sorrel are shallow, so a wide container is suitable for planting. You can plant not one, but several plants in a pot at once, forming a more lush bush. If the bushes do not divide or remove part of the plant, the size of the transplant container can be left unchanged. Good drainage must be laid at its bottom - this will prevent possible stagnation of moisture at the roots. The height of its layer can be up to a third of the pot. The depth of the container may not be very great, but it is calculated so that the foliage of the plant on long stalks does not lie on the windowsill.Both ceramic and plastic pots can be used, but the latter will require more frequent, gentle loosening of the soil to bring oxygen to the roots.
The soil
Oxalis is undemanding to the choice of soil. For its cultivation, you can use universal soil compositions with a neutral or slightly acidic reaction. For self-preparation of the substrate, you can mix peat, turf and leafy soil with sand, taking them in equal parts. Excessively nutritious soils should be avoided - they can activate leaf growth and adversely affect flowering. Before planting, the selected soil must be disinfected by calcining or spilling it with a solution of potassium permanganate. Charcoal can also be added to the substrate for disinfection.
Top dressing
Sour vegetables growing in pots are regularly fed with nutrients. For fertilization, mineral compositions are chosen, reducing their recommended dosage by about half. Bushes are watered with nutrient solutions every 2-3 weeks during active growth. Depending on the desired result, you can select compositions with a predominance of nitrogen (foliage growth) or phosphorus and potassium (more abundant flowering). Oxalis should not be fed in autumn and winter.
Transfer
Young sour trees require annual transplants, but adult specimens can be moved 2-3 times less often using the transshipment method. Spring is optimal for the procedure, when oxalis begins to gradually activate growth. The reason for transplanting an adult plant may be a disease or too much growth and loss of appearance. In this case, it is not necessary to wait for spring - the procedure is carried out if necessary. Recently purchased flowers that have managed to acclimatize in a new place for about a week will also need a transplant.
Dormant period
As a rule, most species of acid sour in winter rest for about 4-6 weeks. In such bushes, after flowering, leaves begin to fly around or droop. After that, watering must be reduced, as well as rearranged plants to cool. Cuttings of old foliage can be cut at a level of 1.5 cm. But the dormant period is not always accompanied by dropping of foliage and sometimes simply means a temporary cessation of growth. Such bushes can be left in the same place, slightly reducing watering and excluding feeding.
Resting in the cool, oxalis should be watered rarely and only as needed - not letting the soil in the pot dry out. When fresh shoots appear on the bush, you can transplant, and then return the acid plant to its original place, in the warmth. The watering schedule is gradually beginning to change upward, and fertilizing is also carried out.
Pests and diseases
Healthy oxalis firmly resists the effects of harmful insects. But on weakened plants, scale insects, red spider mites or aphids can settle. Treatment with soapy water will help from aphids (2 tablespoons of water are mixed with 2 tsp of liquid soap), followed by rinsing. In this case, the soil must be covered with a film in advance. For ticks, use acaricide. The fight against the scabbard takes place in two stages: first, all insects are removed from the bushes, and then the plantings are treated with an insecticide. For reliability, you can repeat the procedure in a week. The drugs are used according to the instructions. Spraying treatments should be carried out in the fresh air, protecting hands and respiratory organs.
The lack of a drainage layer and too frequent watering can lead to stagnant moisture and the development of plant diseases. Because of this, oxalis can suffer from gray rot or fusarium. Having recognized the disease in a timely manner, the bush should be treated with Fundazole or another fungicide preparation.
Methods for breeding acid
Growing from seeds
Wild acid plants usually propagate by seeds, but this method is rarely used at home. It takes a long time, and seed germination is not guaranteed. To still grow oxalis from a seed, you need a suitable soil. It includes leaf humus and peat, as well as 1/4 of the sand.Sowing is carried out in early spring. Small seeds are distributed superficially, without sprinkling with earth. After that, the container with crops is covered with glass or foil and placed in diffused light in moderate (about 16-18 degrees) coolness. To maintain constant moisture, the soil is periodically sprayed with a spray bottle. The shelter is removed daily for ventilation. In such conditions, the seeds should germinate within a month. The first shoots may appear in a week, but in general, the germination time depends on the freshness of the seed.
Propagation by daughter bulbs
Vegetative breeding methods for oxalis are considered to be simpler. When transplanting a bush, daughter bulbs or nodules, which are formed at the main root, are separated from it. Several such children (from 5 to 10 pieces) can be planted in one pot. Before disembarking, they are washed in a pale solution of potassium permanganate, and then placed in a container, keeping a short distance. Sprinkle a small (up to 2 cm) amount of earth on top of the children, and then put the container in a shady place, where it keeps about 15 degrees, periodically watering it. With the appearance of fresh shoots, the pot is transferred to a warmer and brighter corner, sheltered from the direct sun, and after about a month such sour trees will already turn into full-fledged bushes.
Tuber division
In the spring, when the oxalis begins to come out of dormancy and forms the first fresh leaf, the tuber must be pulled out of the soil and cleaned of the remnants of the earth. After that, it is washed in a light pink solution of potassium permanganate and divided into parts using a sharp and sterile instrument. Sprinkle all the cuts on the dividers with crushed coal, and then plant them in their own pots. The seedlings are placed in a bright place and systematically watered as the soil dries up. Such plants should be fed once every couple of weeks. The first feeding is carried out within a week after dividing.
Cuttings
In addition, sour woods can be propagated by cuttings. For this, shoots of adult bushes are used. To form the roots, they are placed in water, and after 2-3 weeks they are planted in a loose substrate. Cuttings can also be rooted in moistened sand, while maintaining a temperature of about 25 degrees. As cuttings, you can also use the leaves of a plant on a stalk about 10 cm long. Spring is best suited for this.
Types of acid with photos and names
Triangular oxalis (Oxalis triangularis)
Or purple oxalis. One of the most popular types for home growing. Oxalis triangularis is a tuberous oxalis, the bush of which is of medium size. Its foliage is on long stalks and has three lobes decorated with purple specks. The structure of the leaves gives them a similarity to butterflies, due to which the species is also called "Madame Butterfly" or moth. During the flowering period, small flowers of white, pink or lilac color are formed on the bushes.
Four-leaved oxalis (Oxalis tetraphylla)
This species is also called Depp's sour cherry or "lucky clover". Oxalis tetraphylla can grow both in pots and in the garden. Its root system is a corm, which is considered edible. The bushes have four-toed green leaves with a brownish-red center and reddish-crimson flowers that form small inflorescences. Flowering differs in duration.
Oxalis bowiei
Heat-loving species. Oxalis bowiei forms bushes up to 25 cm tall. They have leathery foliage colored in shades of green. At the same time, the flowers have a rich pink color.
Common oxalis (Oxalis acetosella)
A species that lives in forests, and has creeping rhizomes. Oxalis acetosella is only 10 cm tall. Its leaves resemble clover foliage. Flowers are arranged one by one, blooming on long graceful peduncles.
Ferruginous oxalis (Oxalis adenophylla)
The species forms bushes about 10 cm high. Oxalis adenophylla has a spectacular grayish-green multi-part foliage.Large pink flowers are complemented by veins and specks.
Multi-colored oxalis (Oxalis versicolor)
One of the most elegant and interesting species. Oxalis versicolor forms striped red and white flowers that resemble candy in color. The open petals have a white color on the inside, and a red border on the edge.
In floriculture, other species can also be found (milky white, nasturtium, Obtus, pressed, carob, etc.), but these sour vegetables are grown only in the garden, and not at home.
Useful properties of acid sour
The medicinal properties of sour cherry have been used for a long time. Shoots and foliage were used as a cure for scurvy, served as a remedy for various ulcers and wounds, and were also included in antidotes to help cure severe poisoning. Traditional medicine also uses oxalis as a cure for worms, a urinary and choleretic agent. In addition, oxalis helps to cope with inflammatory processes.
Oxalis foliage contains a lot of useful vitamin C. This makes the plant a good helper for colds. Eating the foliage can also boost your immune system.
In addition to medicinal properties, oxalis has good taste. Its leaves are used to make tea, added to green soups, salads and other dishes. The foliage is used both fresh and salted or dried. The main thing is not to get too carried away with such a green supplement - it contains a lot of oxalic acid.
