Love Plant Oxalis Bulbs

Oxalis regnellii — Love Plant. Known as the love plant for the way the leaflets close against each other at dusk, and as purple shamrock for the obvious reason. Same plant, two selling names, and both are accurate.

It stays small enough to live in a 4 in pot on a desk, which is unusual for something with this much colour in it. That portability is why it gets bought as a gift more often than as a garden plant.

Give it bright light and it will hold the violet; give it a dark corner and it goes green within a few weeks, which is the plant’s way of telling you to move it.

What you get

• Oxalis regnellii — the compact, gift-sized form.
• Violet foliage with pink flowers in summer.
• Folds at night, which is where the common name comes from.
• Small enough for a 4 in pot on a desk or windowsill.
• Dormant corms that re-sprout after the natural rest period.

How to grow it

• Plant: 1–2 in / 3–5 cm deep, pointed end up, 3–4 in apart in a pot with drainage. Soak the corms for an hour first — they wake up faster.
• Light: bright, indirect light or a few hours of morning sun. Strong light keeps the purple deep; deep shade turns the leaves green.
• Water: keep evenly moist while growing, then let the top inch dry between waterings. Never leave the pot standing in water.
• Temperature: 60–75°F indoors. Hardy outdoors in USDA zones 8–11; elsewhere grow it in a pot and bring it in before frost.
• Dormancy: the leaves die back every few months — that is normal, not death. Stop watering for 4–6 weeks, then start again and it regrows from the corms.

Shipped dormant as graded corms, cleaned and ready to plant. Dispatch in 5–7 working days. Leaf colour and flower shade vary with light, season and the age of the corm — the first flush after planting is usually the darkest. Keep away from cats and dogs: oxalis is high in oxalic acid and is not pet-safe if chewed.