skip to main content

Spent blooms on Oxalis plant

gardengroomer0920

13 years ago

I recently acquired an Oxalis from the grocery store. I am wondering what to do abt the spent blooms? Pull the petals off (deadhead)? or pinch the stem off? if so where do I pinch? I love this plant and trashed my last one when it went dormant (not knowing I would have seen new growth had I mustered on.) Please help! This Irish girl wants her Oxalis for a long time! :)

Featured Answer

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)

13 years ago

Oh yeah! Oxalis corniculata is the one with the tiny purple leaves & pretty little white flowers that you never want to get a hold in any of your containers - worse than pearlwort (Sagina procumbens), I think.

Here is another tool that is stellar for deadheading & snipping this & that around plants. It's a bonsai defoliating tool - but I use it for deadheading all the time - much better (but a lot more expensive) than the Messermeister snips shown above.
{{gwi:14891}}
It's long & thin so you can easily maneuver it in and out of tight spaces.

Al

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (11)

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
13 years ago
Neaten (that a word?) up the plant by cutting through the peduncle (stem that supports the bloom) as close to the soil as is comfortable.

I'll link to a thread (below) that has good info about growing shamrocks.

Here is what you need. Messermeister herb shears, About $5 and killer for deadheading & little snip jobs around plants. Works especially great for deadheading plantings & mixed plantings outdoors.
{{gwi:80318}}

Al

Here is a link that might be useful: Happy St. Paddy's Day!
jodik_gw
13 years ago
I have a little orange handled pair of those, Al... they were part of a pack of different sized scissors. I love them for small trim work and working in tight spaces.

Years ago, I had an Oxalis plant... I wish I had known then what I know now. Plus, I wasn't aware they came in such a vast array of varieties, some very rare and beautiful! Or that certain types were considered invasive weeds!
Related Discussions
Spent rose blooms good for the soil?
Q
Comments (2)
As long as they ae not diseased putting them back where they came from, your soil, will put the nutrients they contain back into that soil, and that is good. You could take them from the garden to the compost pile and then bring the compost back to the garden, but this way saves many steps.
...See More
Double Oxalis blooming
Q
Comments (7)
That's nice for sure. I'm not usually a fan of doubles, but I like that one. I think I'm growing oxalis purpurea...but it may be a pot of weeds (lol)...waiting to see blooms.
...See More
Asiatic Lily in a container...blooms are spent. What do I do next?
Q
Comments (4)
Asiatic lilies are very hardy - zone 4 , maybe even 3. I'd recommend planting them in the ground in a sunny location with well draining soil. They tend not to rebloom as proficiently if left in the container year after year. You can remove the top portion of the stems, where the old flowerheads were located, but otherwise leave all the rest of the stems and foliage in place to recharge the bulb for next year. Lilies bloom just the one time each season so you will have to wait until next year for more flowers. And expect it to bloom later (June) once planted in the ground. Yours was forced into an early bloom for Easter sale.
...See More
Removal of Spent Cacti Blooms
Q
Comments (8)
They tend to fall off unless they self pollinate. Youd see a persistent tube where the flower used to indicating that the flower pollinated. Some rebutias ,parodias and mammillarias tend to fall in the self pollinating category, otherwise the bloom dry and will fall off. If you try to pull it off while still green, you risk damaging the plant. As for succulents , best to cut off flower spikes after done with flowering, as with most echeverias, aloes, and their relatives. And of course there are monocarpic succulents(agaves, semps, some aeoniums, ). I suppose that hylotelephium has monocarpic stems(but also a rhizome), so best just prune those when they are drying late autumn. Now, delosperma behaves somewhat similar to cacti, having their flowering segment fall off. I dont know how other mesembs deal with this, but they are likely sent to the side by a new pair of leaves... Euphorbias... should behave closely to cacti(have the milii and obesa bloom and they simply discard spent flowers). Deadheading those....is inadvisable because dangerous. Can say the same for jatropha. Also pretty sure the same worked for adenium. To add: Orbea and ceropegia flowers also fall of voluntarily and near immediately...so i can assume the same goes for the rest of the stapeliads. Thats all i can say on the subject of deadheading...
...See More
jojosplants
13 years ago
I had a green one last season, and got a purple the other day. Maybe now that I know more about how they like to grow it will be a better season, and I can keep them around longer.

Great thread to link to Al.. Thanks!

Would one mix work better than the other? I was thinking of putting mine outside in a planter with annuals.. so was figuring on the 5-1-1..
Just don't have alot of room for them as a house plant.

JJ
jojosplants
13 years ago
Hello!
Mine is Oxalis triangularis , large leaves. Almost look like butterflies.

I do have a small green one with yellow leaves in the garden that is a stinker to get rid of! ;-)

JJ
birdsnblooms
13 years ago
Garden, what color is your Oxalis? After flowers fade, remove entire stem. (not leaves)

Oxalis lasts forever. If by chance leaves die back, don't toss the plant..let it rest. Once you see new growth, place in bright light and water.

IMO, purple is the easiest to grow. My purple Oxalix was started with one bulb, (early 90's) is alive and well today..I've had a few greens that kicked the bucket.

{{gwi:69228}}

There are some beautiful Green Oxalis around, including a tree type. The little green Ox next to the purple was a tree Oxalis, but died long ago.

An early, Happy St. Patrick's Day...Toni
jojosplants
13 years ago
Hi Toni,
The picture you posted is the one I have now.
Is it a current picture?

I can't remember the name of the green one I had, I got it from ebay. Will probably get some more in the next week or so, it was my moms favorite. It had some redish color towards the center.

I had spaced out the dormancy of it, and it died. LOL!

JoJo
birdsnblooms
13 years ago
Howdy Jojo,
The picture was taken last summer.

There's some true green beautys, but I kill them. lol.
The Oxalis your mom likes, green and red, sounds very pretty..

What's spaced out dormancy mean? lol..Toni
jojosplants
13 years ago
spaced out, as in forgot...
I forgot about them , out of sight, out of mind. lol...
so I never watered in a few weeks to wake them up.

JoJo
norma_2006
13 years ago
From Norma Lewis, I have the pink ones, the deep pink also called 'Rubra' another that has green leaves, but yellow veins, and light pink flowers, then I have several that grow from bulbs, I dead head them like explained above. I have the deep red purple one as well, but forgot it's name, perhaps 'Iron Cross' Norma
birdsnblooms
13 years ago
Jojo, hope you didn't toss your Oxalis. It might be napping. If you kept it, place in a bright, sunny window, and water. Wait a few wks..you should see new growth.

Norma, the Oxalis you mentioned sounds lovely, too..Wish I could keep green w/color, but they die.
Purple Oxalis..the name I've seen is O. Triangularis. Toni

Related Stories

FALL GARDENING Autumn’s Spent Flowers Enrich the Off-Season

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

The garden season never ends when you think beyond summer blooms

FLOWERS AND PLANTS Abutilon Palmeri Dazzles the Southwest With Nearly Year-Round Blooms

By Oakley Gardens

Plant Palmer’s Indian mallow for velvety foliage, long-lasting orange flowers and an abundance of wildlife benefits

FLOWERS AND PLANTS Vitex Agnus-Castus Fills Gardens With Fragrant Blooms and Foliage

By Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Spikes of purple flowers adorn chaste tree’s aromatic foliage throughout the warm season in Southern gardens

HOUSEPLANTS How to Force Amaryllis Bulbs Indoors

By creative jewish mom.com

Enjoy vibrant red blossoms even as gardens turn snowy white, by teaching this hardy repeat performer to ignore the calendar

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Pseudognaphalium Obtusifolium, or Rabbit Tobacco

By Curtis Adams

This late-blooming native annual, also known as sweet everlasting, adds spontaneity to landscapes in the eastern United States

GARDENING AND LANDSCAPING Great Design Plant: Pacific Coast Iris

By Annie Thornton

Plant this West Coast native for stunning, intricate blooms from January through May

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Grow Blueberries for Their Fruit and More

By Ellen Sousa/Turkey Hill Brook Farm

Eastern gardeners should consider growing blueberry plants for their delicious fruits, bee-friendly spring blooms and brilliant fall foliage

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Red Kangaroo Paw

By Annie Thornton

Plant this dramatic perennial in fall or spring for its height, hardiness and beautiful red blooms

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Vernonia Noveboracensis

By Curtis Adams

Stately New York ironweed attracts pollinators with its blooms at the end of summer and birds with its seeds in fall

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Bulbine Frutescens 'Hallmark'

By Annie Thornton

Plant this low-maintenance succulent now for brilliant eye-catching orange blooms in spring

Sponsored

More Discussions

Orchid ID (Brassia Summer Dream?) and care in kokedama

6

What do I do with this plant?

11

Is this a clarinervium?

1

Ants in my plants! Ants in my plants!

16

Indoor Gardenia

1