Oxalis is a herbaceous plant from the Acidic family. The scientific name is oxalis, but it is also known by the names false clover, rabbit cabbage and sour. Indeed, leaflets are similar in structure to clover and have a sour taste. The homeland of sour acid is Mexico, South America and southern Africa. The plant is highly decorative, so gardeners loved it. It is planted in gardens as a border or used as a houseplant. Oxygen has healing properties, it is a good choleretic and diuretic, and also helps with colds.
Botanical Description
Kislitsa is a genus of annual or perennial flowering herbs. They have a creeping superficial rhizome with tuberous or bulbous growths. The height of the plant is 15-30 cm. Leaflets on petioles up to 20 cm long have a palmate or triple structure. The length of the sheet is 5-15 cm. It is common for a sheet plate to fold and fall overnight in cloudy weather or under physical impact. The color of the leaves is green and burgundy, plain or two-tone.
Flowering occurs in late spring or early summer and lasts about a month. A long peduncle grows from the axils of the leaves, which carries one or more buds. Corolla of the correct form consists of five petals fused into a short tube. They have a rounded, strongly bent outward edge. By analogy with leaves, flowers close at night. The color of the petals is dominated by lilac, white, pink, yellow shades. All flowers are bisexual, prone to self-pollination or pollination by insects. In the center of the flower are 5-10 long filamentous stamens and a single ovary. Its column may be longer, shorter, or flush with the stamens.
Fruits - fleshy seed capsules oblong in shape with green leaves. Behind them are small, drop-shaped seeds with a thick skin. The top layer of the peel contains a large amount of sugar to attract ants. They carry seeds over long distances. After maturation, the leaves of the sour berries open sharply, literally firing the contents over a long distance.
Popular types of sour
Oxalis is very diverse. In the genus, there are more than 800 varieties. Russia is a natural habitat for 5-6 of them.
Common acid. Most often found in a shady coniferous forest. Perennial grasses grow only 5-12 cm tall. A thin creeping rhizome comes into symbiosis with fungi, due to which swelling forms on the underground processes. Leaves on thin flexible petioles have a triple shape with heart-shaped lobes. They are colored green, and due to the high content of oxalic acid have a sour taste. On a peduncle 5-10 cm long in May-June, single creamy flowers bloom. Their petals are covered with purple or pink veins and have a rounded edge.
Tuberous acid. The species lives in Central and South America, where it is cultivated along with potatoes. Plants similarly grow very weighty elongated tubers with a high starch content on the roots. The leaves of this species have a triple shape and a plain green color. Single flowers consist of five pinkish petals.
Four leaf sour. Bulbous perennial native to Mexico and Panama. It is more often used as a houseplant. The height of the bush is 15 cm. A brownish black bulb feeds a shortened stem and a rosette of 3-6 long-leaved leaves with heart-shaped segments. The leaves are green in color with a brown or purple spot in the center. In June-September, loose umbrella blossoms bloom over the foliage on long peduncles. Funnel-shaped saturated pink or red-violet flowers with a yellowish pharynx. Their diameter is about 2 cm.
Triangular acid (purple). Heat-loving plants for home cultivation are distinguished by large dark purple leaves with a lighter center. On each petiole there are 3 angular plates. Small light pink flowers are collected on long flexible peduncles in loose inflorescences.
Ferruginous acid. A popular garden plant forms a dense flowering bush of only 8 cm in height and almost 15 cm in diameter. Gray-green oval leaves are quite remarkable. Each petiole may contain 9-22 fan-shaped segments. In June-July, large white-silver flowers bloom with a pinkish mesh of veins on the inner surface.
Carob Oxygen. Low-growing ground cover grasses are quite tenacious, so many gardeners are considered a weed. Each petiole has 3 heart-shaped lobes of a cherry, almost brown hue. Small light pink flowers bloom singly or in groups of up to 3 pieces.
Oxalis is variegated. The original indoor variety grows bright green leaves with very narrow, almost linear lobes. The petals of her flowers are twisted into a narrow tube at night. Inside, they have a plain white color, and outside on the edge are surrounded by burgundy or scarlet border. The height of the plant reaches 15 cm. South Africa is its homeland.
Propagation Features
Oxygen is propagated by sowing seeds, tubers and cuttings. Seeds are sown in mid-spring immediately into the open ground. After 1.5-2 weeks, seedlings will appear. In the first year, seedlings form leaf rosettes and grow rhizome. Dense bushes and flowers can be observed from the next year of life.
In autumn, when the ground part dies, you can dig up nodules from the soil. They are kept in a cool place. From the beginning of March, pots with loose garden soil mixed with sand have been prepared. Each container can hold up to 10 nodules. They are planted to a depth of about 1 cm. For several weeks, pots with tubers are kept in a cool (+ 5 ... + 10 ° C) place and moisten the soil with great care. By the end of March, the temperature is rising. For growing a house, you can plant tubers at any time of the year. If you land in the last decade of October, then by the New Year a lush bush will already be formed.
Oxalis perfectly propagated by cuttings. Moreover, any part of the plant is suitable for rooting: a leaf with a petiole, individual segments, a peduncle with flowers. Rooting can be carried out in water or directly in the soil. To do this, use a mixture of river sand, deciduous humus, leaf and sod land. Petioles are planted in groups and contain in ambient light and at a temperature of about + 25 ° C. The adaptation process takes 2-3 weeks.
Home Care
Indoor acid is planted in a medium-sized pot. The soil is made up of equal parts of the following components:
- river sand;
- humus land;
- peat;
- sheet earth;
- turf land.
At the bottom, a layer of clay shards, gravel or expanded clay is necessarily placed. After planting, plants are abundantly watered.
Lighting. Oxygen grows well with bright diffused light and a daylight of 12-14 hours. In the hot summer at noon, protection from direct sunlight is necessary. In autumn and winter, plants are rearranged on the southern windowsill and use the backlight.
Temperature. In spring and summer, sour acid will be good at a temperature of + 20 ... + 25 ° C. On hot days, it is recommended to ventilate the room more often, but protect the flower from drafts. It is better to take the pot to fresh air. In winter, it is necessary to rearrange the plant in a cooler (+ 12 ... + 18 ° C) room. In December-January, most acidic acids are at rest. They drop foliage, so they also do not need lighting. In February, pots with tubers are transferred to a warmer place.
Humidity. The flower gratefully responds to regular spraying, but is able to adapt to normal indoor humidity. In winter, it is recommended that you use an air humidifier or place trays with wet pebbles near heating appliances.
Watering. During the period of active vegetation, sour acid should be watered quite often. The substrate can dry to a depth of 1-1.5 cm. However, water stagnation must not be allowed. Since autumn, watering is gradually reduced and minimized. During the rest period for 4-6 weeks, they can be completely abandoned.
Fertilizers In April-August, bushes are watered with a solution of mineral fertilizer for flowering plants. Top dressing is applied every 14-20 days after a small watering.
Diseases and pests. The acidity immunity is very strong. She practically does not suffer from plant diseases. Only with prolonged improper care (damp, low temperatures, contact with diseased plants) can a fungus develop on them (gray rot, powdery mildew). Also, only occasionally on the shoots can one see spider mites, scutes or mealybugs.
Oxalis in the garden
Oxalis grows equally well in partial shade and on an open, sunny lawn. The soil must be nutritious, loose and breathable. Soil acidity is recommended neutral or slightly acidic. If necessary, they dig the ground before planting with the addition of compost and peat. Young plants are planted with a distance of 10-12 cm to a depth of 3-4 cm. Planting is best done in the second half of spring in warm, cloudy weather.
Usually plants have enough natural rainfall. If the drought is prolonged, the bushes are watered in the morning or closer to sunset with a small amount of water.
Infrequently, every 1-2 months, the sour is fed a highly diluted mineral complex or "Mullein".
In autumn, a thermophilic plant must be prepared for wintering. To do this, it is good to mulch the soil at the roots. You should not be afraid of the condition of the ground part, in any case it will dry out, and a thick layer of mulch will help the tubers and roots survive until next spring.
Signs and superstitions
Kislitsa is a very welcome guest in the house. It promises peace in the family, well-being, protection from quarrels and omissions, frequent meetings with friends. The house will easily turn into a full bowl, a place of joyful meetings and gatherings with friends and relatives. It is believed that for single people, a flower will help solve personal problems and find a soul mate, as well as get rid of gloom and depression. In some countries, oxalis serves as a wonderful gift for Christmas or New Year, as a source of joy and financial well-being.
