Purple Shamrock problems & how to fix them
Oxalis triangularis
Drooping, yellowing, brown tips, or a plant that just won’t thrive? Here are the most common Purple Shamrock problems, what usually causes them, and how to turn things around.
Common problems
Root rot
The small bulbs rot if kept wet, especially during dormancy. A fungal or bacterial infection of the roots, almost always triggered by soil staying wet too long. Caught early, most plants recover within a few weeks after repotting; if most roots are already mushy, recovery is uncertain.
Phytophthora root rot on a dug-up root ball
Photo: Jerzy Opioła · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Etiolation (insufficient light)
In dim light the leaf stalks stretch and flop. The plant is stretching toward light it isn't getting: long gaps between leaves, pale thin growth, and leaning. Stretched growth never compacts again, but with more light all new growth comes in full and sturdy - the plant's future is good.
etiolated seedlings stretching pale toward the light
Photo: சஞ்சீவி சிவகுமார் · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Spider mites
Occasional mite problems appear on stressed plants in dry rooms. Tiny sap-sucking mites that thrive in warm, dry air and leave fine webbing and speckled leaves. Caught early they are very treatable; most plants recover fully within 3-4 weeks of consistent treatment.
a two-spotted spider mite among its silk threads
Photo: Gilles San Martin · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
The mistakes that most often kill it
- Watering a dormant pot as if it were in full growth, rotting the bulbs.
- Throwing the plant away during natural dieback, mistaking dormancy for death.
- Constantly soggy soil at any stage.
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