Oxalis, aka wood sorrel

One of my favorite plants. It's luminous yellow flowers & green clover-like leaves early color.
It dies back, and propagates by seed & small bulbs at the base.
Brings back good memories of elementary school.
We chewed on "sourgrass" while waiting for the school bus in Del Mar, Ca in the '50's. ;)

Cal, you forgot to mention what a wonderful banner it makes! It's vibrantly exciting. Really nice.

Thanks, Sean!
Do you have it in Riverhead, NY?

I haven't seen it... but now I'll look for it!

It's wild, and is one of the first signs of spring here.

It may be considered a weed by some, but I purposely
added it to our gardens.

It disappears after blooming profusely, and takes no care at all.

It's wild, and is one of the first signs of spring here.

It may be considered a weed by some, but I purposely
added it to our gardens.

It disappears after blooming profusely, and takes no care at all. :thumbsup:


And bees love it.

It's a weed here and I pull the plants up when I see them, whether they are in the flowerbeds and/or the grass.

Here's the database link for it:

Yellow Wood Sorrel (Oxalis dillenii)

It makes a very cheerful banner! Nice.

Thanks, Mika!
Is it there in the UK?

The only oxalis I have here is definitely not that. I get the shamrocks, but I like them and do tend to leave them alone. As the saying goes, a weed is only a plant in the wrong place. Wild flowers they are!

Great banner Cal!

Whitebeard said:The only oxalis I have here is definitely not that. I get the shamrocks, but I like them and do tend to leave them alone. As the saying goes, a weed is only a plant in the wrong place. Wild flowers they are!

I like that saying.

And thanks, @crawgarden. Glad you like it.
It really does brighten up the garden. =)

EscondidoCal said:Thanks, Mika!
Is it there in the UK?

Yes, we get oxalis in the UK - some are hardy enough to survive and some are considered weeds. But yours is very pretty; if it appeared in my garden I would be happy!

cliftoncat said:
Yes, we get oxalis in the UK - some are hardy enough to survive and some are considered weeds. But yours is very pretty; if it appeared in my garden I would be happy!

Beautiful.

I remember this plant well back into childhood. As Cal mentioned he nibbled on the leaves revealing the "sourgrass" taste. So did we as children. It grows profusely here as a weed. Wild violets are thick here in the gardens too. These two are considered "weeds" but who can refuse seeing their blooms in spring? Ah, the memories of childhood..... Thanks Cal for a nice memory & banner!

Bright, cheerful and a great banner, Cal!

TBGDN said:I remember this plant well back into childhood. As Cal mentioned he nibbled on the leaves revealing the "sourgrass" taste. So did we as children. It grows profusely here as a weed. Wild violets are thick here in the gardens too. These two are considered "weeds" but who can refuse seeing their blooms in spring? Ah, the memories of childhood..... Thanks Cal for a nice memory & banner!

I'm so glad you have good memories of eating "sour grass", too.
We munched on the juicy stems.

Thanks for all the nice comments, thumbs & acorns.

If anyone would like some of the little corms (or whatever they're called) to
start your own colony of oxalis, please send me a treemail.

All the foliage etc withers & disappears after they bloom, and you don't even
know they're there the rest of the year until spring.

You can start them in a container, too, if you don't want to put them in
the garden. If they are in a spot I need for something else, I just pull
them out (easy to do) & throw them somewhere there aren't any.

I have a neighbor who has them in her lawn, and she mows them or pulls them out.
(I think it looks nice myself). In fact, I got some of mine from her (with her permission).
I just have them in flower beds & pots (all volunteers), and haven't had any problems
with them.

I think I saw Martha Stewart plug her lawn with daffodils, which takes a lot more work,
money, & time. Oxalis is a no-brainer.

Everyone is different, so I respect anyone who doesn't like them.
But they're good memories & bright spring color for us.