False shamrock: how to help it thrive and what to do in winter—expert tips
False shamrock enchants with its eye-catching leaves and delicate blooms. Though this easy-care plant can be grown outdoors in container gardens or indoors as a houseplant, botanist Visa Lipponen notes that it’s not at its best when kept inside.
False shamrock (oxalis triangularis) is a balcony or patio plant that requires a noticeable difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures to stay compact and bloom reliably. If bought while in bloom, it can be grown indoors on a bright windowsill, but newly formed leaf stalks and flower stems often stretch and won’t stay upright.
False shamrock is a perennial South American species that naturally grows in areas with a distinct dry season. When that season arrives, its leaves wilt, and the plant survives by relying on its rhizome and carrot-like roots. If you grow triangular oxalis as a perennial in colder regions, bring it indoors before nighttime frosts. If it still has flowers, let them finish blooming, then stop watering and allow the plant to wither. Alternatively, you can cut off the leaves as soon as you bring it inside and put it into dormancy immediately.
False shamrock is a perennial South American species that naturally grows in areas with a distinct dry season.
During dormancy, the plant should not be watered, and you can keep the pot in a dark place. The best spot is as cool as possible, but the temperature must stay above freezing. In spring, by mid-April at the latest, dig up the overwintered rhizomes and plant them in fresh potting soil—any standard summer-flower soil mix works well. Water the rhizomes sparingly until they start growing, then water more generously.
The main drawback of growing it as a perennial is that once it starts to grow, you can’t move it outdoors right away. In spring, a cool conservatory is ideal, since in a normal living room its leaves inevitably become overly long. If you don’t move it outside for the summer, it will bloom poorly or not at all.
You can cultivate other common false shamrocks in the same way, including lucky clover (o. tetraphylla) and oca (o. tuberosa).
If you don’t move the plant outside for the summer, it will bloom poorly or not at all.
Red-leaved false shamrocks cultivars, such as ’Mijke’, ’Sunny’ and ’Ikigai’, are often sold without a specific cultivar name, making them hard to differentiate. Additionally, white oxalis (o. regnellii) was once considered a separate species, but it’s now regarded as a synonym for triangular oxalis.
