Purple shamrock - Oxalis triangularis
Purple shamrock - oxalis triangularis has become one of my absolute favorite houseplants, although it can be grown as a garden plant in beds or borders as well. Another name for it is false shamrock. It has three
dark purple, heart shaped leaves and the leaf itself resembles a butterfly. They kind of curl up or fold over at night. The flowers start out looking like little trumpets then once they open will have five-petaled lavender/pink blooms. It is not supposed to
bloom all year but our plant constantly has blooms. This probably has nothing at all to do with the constant blooms but when our flowers have faded they
will drop and I always place them back in the pot.
Our plant is in bright light but will tolerate less. Too much light might damage it. You should water it regularly, the plant droops if too dry and fertilize infrequently. In our research of this plant we have found some sources that say it is poisonous to
pets. The leaves aren't supposed to be too tasty so that may deter them but it definitely should be a consideration.
The photo below of our purple shamrock flowers was created for our photography web site: If you'd like to see this and any of our other photos you can visit Purplebear's Photography
