| Description | Purple Shamrock (Oxalis regnellii var triangularis) Although not the true Irish Shamrock, it is still a neat addition to a bright window sill. At night the leaves fold up and open during the day. Flowers do the same. |
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| Pronunciation | (oks-AL-iss) |
| Plant Type | Indoor Foliage, Bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizoms, etc. |
| Hardiness Zone | 7b-10 |
| Sunlight | Prefers bright to full. Seems to do well under a bank of 4, 40 watt fluorescent bulbs. |
| Moisture | Keep the plant evenly moist. It will easily wilt but recovers quickly after a watering. |
| Growing Media | average house |
| Temperature | average house |
| Flowers | The flowers are 1", pink fading to light pink, green throat, 5 petals and held up on a 8-9" long, thin stalk. Up to 5-6 flowers per stalk. |
| Leaves | The purple leaves are trifoliate, with a lighter blotch in the center, held erect on a 4-5" petiole. |
| Stems | The stems are subterranean elongated scaly bulbs. |
| Dimensions | A small clumping plant that will easily fill out a 5" pot. |
| Maintenance | The plants will go dormant. When this happens, restrict the watering, let the leaves die back and let the bulbs stay dormant for 2-3 weeks. Water again and they will regrow. |
| Propagation | Easily propagated by dividing the clump of scaly bulbs when the plant has gone dormant. |
| Native Site | South America |
| Misc Facts | Irish Shamrock, Purple Leaf False Shamrock, Purple Shamrock |
| Author's Notes | The leaves easily spot and stain, especially from over head watering using a fertilizer. |
| Notes & Reference | www.plantoftheweek.org, www.plantdel.com |
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