Purple shamrock

Purple shamrock on ground

Okay, lets move from blue to purple now. This is my purple shamrock. I like the unique shape of the leaves (as you can see from the pic). It looks like the Irish shamrock clover doesn't it? I am not sure if its the same species or just look alike. Hope someone can tell me. Scientifically, its known as Oxalis atropurpurea.

I had always like unique shaped leaves and colored plants. How often do we actually see leaves that are not green in color? Plants like this catches my eye no matter how far corner its tucked in a nursery.

If I remember correctly, I believe I bought this plant at a local nursery and it was in a plastic pot. It was still small but growing healthily and even has flowers. So after I bought and brought it home, I replanted it into the ground (as in pic above). I knew rather little about the characteristics of the plant to be honest.

I then started observing its behavior. I noticed the stem is exceptionally weak. It cannot stand up to rain water. Each time I water the plant and when rain falls, the stems would just fall down. I then realized that this is a plant more suitable in a container and placed under a covered rooftop. Anyway, I left it as it is and there were one time when the whole plant died off, probably due to disease. I thought oh no that is the end of my purple shamrock. But after a week or two, I saw new shoots coming out. Was indeed surprised and excited.

The flower

Since then, I have just let it be and its been growing well although the stems can't stand up properly. And here, you can see the tiny flower. Its pretty small, a bit smaller than my blue butterfly flower. Its definitely a plant worth having as it is low maintenance and will certainly add color to the garden. I wonder if it can root via stem cutting. Have never tried it before but its worth a try perhaps when my friends come asking for it.