Plant Database

Description:

Rich clover-like bright green foliage, covered with dainty deep-pink trumpets with dark centers in spring; will light up the shaded areas of the garden; heavy spring bloom is followed by sporadic re-bloom all summer; morning sun to bright shade is fine

Ornamental Features

Wood Sorrel features dainty hot pink trumpet-shaped flowers with dark red throats rising above the foliage from late spring to early fall. Its attractive fan-shaped leaves remain light green in colour throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Wood Sorrel is a dense herbaceous perennial with a mounded form. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and may require the occasional pruning to look its best. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Wood Sorrel is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Groundcover
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Wood Sorrel will grow to be about 10 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 12 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 10 inches apart. Its foliage tends to remain low and dense right to the ground. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is not originally from North America. It can be propagated by division.

Wood Sorrel is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers and foliage against which the thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.