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Plant Details
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Shamrock
Oxalis regnellii
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Description
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The Shamrock is a traditional Irish symbol of good luck, looking its best around St. Patrick's Day. A South American native and Victorian favorite, this plant is a relatively low maintenance houselplant, perfect for partly sunny window sills. Shamrock is a tender bulb that grows from a rhizome producing trifoliate or three-lobed, kelly green foliage with triangular leaflets. Above the shamrock foliage, white to pale pink, five-petaled flowers bloom predominantly in the spring and continue blooming sporadically through the fall. Great to plant in containers with other shade lovers outdoors in the summer. Purple foliage types are also commonly seen in the greenhouse and garden centers.
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Plant Attributes
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| Height: |
6" - 8" |
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| Width: |
6 |
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| Zone: |
USDA Hardiness Zone 7 (0 to 10 degrees F) to 10 |
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| Maintenance: |
Low |
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| Pruning: |
Deadhead regularly for repeat blooms. Cut back hard when foliage yellows and/or dies back in late fall. Divide bulblets off main rhizome in spring when plant is coming out of dormancy. |
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| Fertilize: |
Feed once a month April to September with a liquid fertilizer. Follow label instructions. |
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| Planting Intructions: |
Prepare soil with Petitti Planting Mix, dig hole twice the width and same depth of the pot/root ball, gently separate the roots, set the plant so that the top of the root ball sits slightly above the existing soil level, back fill the hole adding Plant-tone, Ironite, water in the plant with MiracleGro Quick Start, and finish by applying a 2" layer of Scotts Nature Scapes mulch. Use potting soil if planting in containers. |
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| Growth Habit: |
Upright, mounding |
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| Flower Color: |
White to pale pink |
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| Bloom Time: |
Spring to fall |
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| Attractive Foliage: |
3-lobed foliage that closes at night! |
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| Winter Interest: |
Excellent houseplant |
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| Shade Tolerant: |
Yes |
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| Additional Info: |
Classified as a tender bulb in Zone 5. Grow indoors year round, but let it go into dormancy when foliage starts to yellow and wither. Let the soil and rhizome dry-out, store in a cool, dry place for 4 weeks. Bring back out of storage, place on a partly sunny window sill and water to reactivate growth. Outdoors it can be used as an annual and/or dried in fall and stored like other tender bulbs (Cannas, Dahlias, etc.) over winter. Then started indoors or planted in spring after the chance of frost. Repotting the Shamrock rhizomes around the beginning of January usually results in flowering by St. Patrick's Day. |
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| Features: |
A favorite among children as the leaves "close" at night! |
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| Companion Plants: |
Other shade lovers like Astilbe, Brunnera, dark leaf Heuchera, Coleus and Begonias. |
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| Water: |
Keep the soil evenly moist to slightly dry in between waterings. Letting the plant dry out completely will not harm the bulb. You can always start watering again. Overwatering may cause bulb rot and plant death. |
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