Oxalis versicolor

When tOxalis versicolor blooms, which is during long weeks, it's a true delight. On its tender green clover-like leaves, small unopened turbinate flowers stand, with a fine border of cherry red-pink drawing a beginning of a spiral on a white background. These adorable buds, reminiscent of sweets, candy canes or barley sugar, open into small white flowers. This small bulbous plant native to the southern hemisphere has an inverted vegetative cycle: it flowers during winter in our climates and goes dormant in summer. As it is not very hardy, it is preferable to cultivate it in a pot and bring it indoors as soon as temperatures approach 0°C (32°F). It will brighten up your interior during the coldest months!

Oxalis versicolor, also known as Oxalis, is a plant from the Oxalidaceae family, with the genus comprising around 500 species, most of which are perennial bulbous plants native to South Africa and South America. In nature, in the southern Cape region, this botanical species grows in pockets of soil on cliffs and rocks. It slowly colonizes its environment by propagating through bulbs, without being invasive like other Oxalis. The foliage, 10cm (4in) tall, is unique. It is composed of finely trilobed, tender green leaves, arranged in a palmate shape. When sunlight decreases, the leaves fold in on themselves. The flowering normally takes place from October to March, with a peak from December to February. The funnel-shaped flowers, gathered in umbellate clusters, are composed of 5 petals arranged in a helix, slightly overlapping, white on the inside. The reverse of the petals is highlighted by a fine cherry red border, making them appear as lovely when open as when closed. These corollas, just like the foliage, open in the sun and close in the shade and at night. The plant is deciduous in summer.

This plant, both unique and delightful, can only be grown in open ground in our mildest regions. However, its cultivation in pots with a moist soil during flowering poses no problem. Its winter flowering brings a bit of color and a breath of spring into the house, at a time of year when blooms are rare.