Oxalis livida starts growth now

M Gastil-Buhl via pbs pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net
Sun, 09 Aug 2020 09:57:37 PDT
Every year I mean to repot my Oxalis livida before it begins to send up
shoots. Repotting today, I observed only a few of the largest bulbs have
shoots, and none reached the soil surface yet. I managed to avoid breaking
these but it would have been easier had I remembered a week or two earlier.
So I am sharing this in case anyone needs prompting.

For seasonal context:
Amaryllis belladonna are just past peak bloom. Only a few Scilla peruviana
have poked up green leaf tips. None of the bulb beds nor pots have received
water, only air humidity. The O. livida pot was under a roof so no dew
moistened it. Based on a few self-sown "indicator annuals" in bulb beds (in
this case a Nigella and a Larkspur), the soil that seems oven dry must
actually contain scarce moisture. Being close to the ocean, there is a
marine layer most mornings. Some succulents here can grow on just air
moisture, without soil. My soil tension meter is at 200, as dry as it can
measure. So my guess is O. livida just has an internal clock, not
responding to temperature or moisture. And that alarm just rang so don't
hit snooze like I did. ;)

Gastil
Santa Barbara, California
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