Oxalis corniculata - Plant

Planting and care

Select a sunny or partially shady outdoor planting site. Mix a 3- to 6-inch layer of organic matter such as compost, well-aged cow manure and sphagnum peat moss into the planting site.
Mix it in thoroughly to a depth of 10 to 12 inches with a rototiller or shovel.
Plant wood sorrel bulbs or rhizomes in the prepared soil in fall. Dig planting holes ½ to 1 inch deep and 4 to 6 inches wide with a hand trowel. Space holes for multiple plantings 6 inches apart.

Caring for Oxalis corniculata

• Place three or four wood sorrel bulbs or rhizomes into each hole.
• Push loose, prepared soil over the bulbs or rhizomes until the top of the soil is level with the surrounding garden soil.
• Water the placed you planted bulbs or rhizomes to settle the soil.
• Water the planting site when its soil begins to dry. After the plants grow and have healthy stems and leaves, give them an application of 20-10-20 or 15-15-15 fertilizer once per week.
• Allow the soil to dry, and do not fertilize the wood sorrel plants if they become dormant.
• Some wood sorrel species become dormant and appear dead for as long as three months up to four times per year.
• Resume watering and fertilizing after new stems and leaves appear on the wood sorrel plants.

Typical uses of Oxalis corniculata

Special features: They usually bloom in spring and fall, producing pink, purple, red, white or yellow flowers.

Ornamental use: The plant is used for ornamental purpose

Medicinal use: It is anthelmintic, anti-inflammatory, astringent, depurative, diuretic, emmenagogue, febrifuge, lithontripic, stomachic and styptic.
It is used in the treatment of influenza, fever, urinary tract infections, enteritis, diarrhea, traumatic injuries, sprains and poisonous snake bites.

References

• http://www.flowersofindia.net/risearch/search.php?query=Oxalis+corniculata&stpos=0&stype=AND