Kislitsa with its inimitable folding leaves, lush bushes and quivering flowers fell in love with many. This is one of the brightest seasonal indoor plants. And as soon as the daylight begins to wane, the curly elegant crumbs, which are so funny to watch in bad weather, fade. A nondescript appearance, mass dying off of leaves, loss of decorativeness by oxalis in autumn is a typical phenomenon, but not necessary. Oxalis, with the exception of one species, can remain decorative even in winter. True, for this she needs special comfortable conditions and a little different care.
Rules for wintering sour wood at home
Contents:
Ideal temperature and lighting
All sour, or oxalis (Oxalis) are conventionally divided into species that go through a full dormancy phase and shed their leaves for wintering and those species that vegetate even in winter, depending on the conditions, retaining or losing their decorative effect.
Only drops leaves for the winter sorrel Deppebetter known by its old name four-leaf oxalis, or Lucky clover (Oxalis deppei, synonym – Oxalis tetraphylla) and its hybrids.
For this species, the temperature during the winter months should remain in the range of 9 to 12 degrees Celsius. Lighting for Depp’s acid doesn’t matter, but in bright light, early awakening is possible, so containers with a plant are charmingly set in shade. The duration of the cold and dark wintering period of a lucky clover should not be less than 6-8 weeks.
The rest of the sorrel species (Ortgisa, Bove, pink, multi-colored, triangular or three-leafed, purple, etc.) can winter at room temperature and in the cool, but still cannot stand the temperature drop below 12 degrees.
Read more about the types of acid in the article Kislitsa, or Oxalis – sensitive “butterflies” on the windowsill.
The ideal temperature for wintering oxalis that preserves leaves is 16 degrees. Possible fluctuations in indicators – from 13 to 18 degrees Celsius. It is with a slightly cool wintering acid woods that they continue to develop, they will not stretch out and lose leaves so massively. If the plants do not stimulate flowering, then the cool period is extended until the beginning of the increase in daylight hours.
Lighting is a key factor in the attractiveness of the bushes for those retaining leaves for the dormant period of oxalis. Oxalis quickly reacts to insufficient lighting: if in the summer sour trees at first only “hint” at a growth disorder, then in winter in poor lighting the stems-cuttings not only stretch out, but become soft, wither, the bushes shed their leaves and look more and more neglected, losing their decorative effect literally on eyes.
In winter, oxalis need to compensate for the reduction in lighting and day length by providing a familiar or at least approximately familiar level of lighting. For sour trees, you can install additional lighting or simply move the bushes to the lightest window sills. The plant does not like the direct sun even at this time.
Oxalis deppei and its hybrids shed their leaves for the winter. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com Nianyan
Accurate watering and air humidity
Without exception, all sour trees gradually begin to water less by winter, reducing watering from September-October and drying the soil a little more between waterings. Watering is stopped only for a four-leaf clover (Oxalis Depe), all the rest are simply watered much more accurately.
It is better to prefer such irrigations, between which the substrate will dry out in the upper third or even to the middle of the pot, to the usual summer watering for summer watering with drying of the soil in the upper layer.
Air humidity is one of the most “dangerous” parameters when selecting conditions for keeping acid in winter. The thing is that oxalis at this time are sensitive to a combination of coolness and high humidity, heat and low air humidity to the same extent.
If acid lakes are kept at a temperature of about 18 degrees (or higher), the air humidity should be medium and increase in proportion to the temperature: the hotter it is in the room, the more the air humidity rises.
Spraying in winter is not allowed… If the air is too dry, simple trays with wet moss or pebbles, indoor fountains, or move the plant closer to humidifiers and groups of tropical moisture-loving species are installed for acidic acid.
Starting from September-October, watering for all acid woods, without exception, is reduced
Top dressing does not have to be stopped
For all species of acid lice, which continue their flowering even in autumn and winter, stopping feeding completely is far from improving the idea. For oxalis triangular, Bove and other species that can bloom for more than 9 months, for the winter, dressing is reduced by 2-3 times, but not stopped. Fertilizers are applied with a frequency of 1 time per month, reducing the concentration of fertilizers by half compared to summer dressings.
For sour trees that shed leaves or stop flowering, no fertilizing is applied.
Priority hygiene
All oxalis, which retain their leaves in winter, require frequent examinations and attention. Leaving dry leaves, withering cuttings and flowers, allowing the substrate under the bush to clog up just in winter is the biggest mistake. Any damaged or faded parts should be removed as soon as possible.
The “cleaner” the bushes are (even if you have to leave not so many leaves), the less the risk that oxalis will seriously suffer from pests and diseases during wintering.
It is also worth observing the plant for another reason: in this way, measures can be taken in a timely manner by rearranging the acid plants to lighter places and raising the humidity to a comfortable level.
Wintering garden sorrel in the rooms
This houseplant is becoming more and more popular in the decoration of gardens, balconies, terraces and even city flower beds. Thanks to the elegant look of the bushes and the inimitable variability of colors, the sorrel is planted in flower beds and open soil. But only the most cold-resistant species can winter in the ground, and even then with careful shelter under a layer of leaves, spruce branches and non-woven materials.
To preserve the heat-loving acid lilies for the next year, they need to be moved indoors. If the oxalis preserved their leaves for the winter and even bloom, and the plants were dug up in advance, before the frost, then the rules for their wintering do not differ at all from indoor oxalis.
If the oxalis have dropped their leaves, then it is better to keep the prepared nodules in the same way as any bulbous ones – outside the soil or in an “intermediate” substrate:
- after digging, the bulbs are cleaned and dried in a shaded, ventilated room;
- having laid the bulbs in a cardboard box or disinfected sand, peat, coconut substrate or sawdust, oxalis is sent for wintering along with other bulbs in a cool dry room.
For oxalis triangular and other species that can bloom for more than 9 months, the top dressing for the winter is reduced, but not stopped.
Wintering offset for forcing flowering bushes
Lush growth and massive flowering of oxalis can be obtained at any time, but for this, the plant must correctly control the dormant period. Fashionable oxalis, especially Depp’s four-leaved oxalis, are often driven out in the same way as bulbous ones – for the holidays. After all, the plant, nicknamed the lucky clover, is becoming an increasingly popular gift in the form of a living bouquet.
Regardless of the type of acid, in order to achieve atypical flowering from it, you need to reduce the temperature within the limits permissible for each type of indicators and limit watering for 6-8 weeks. Oxalis blooms in 30-40 days after resuming normal watering and transferring back to heat.
At the same time, Deppé sour cherry, which completely sheds its leaves, must be kept at an air temperature of 10 to 12 degrees, and the rest of the species at temperatures from 12 to 16 degrees.
