I've been a little lazy lately in the greenhouse, especially during the dog show season. So I have been late in watering the oxalis, that we're spending the summer up on a higher shelf out of reach. They had their first rains last week, since I placed them outside to get drenched with the remains of the Hurricanes that we had. Since I don't fertilize most of my South African bulbs, I took the opportunity for the natural rain while it was still mild. It's surprising how quickly they emerge, I haven't repotted them except for a few (more about that later), and they are still growing in a mixture of Pumice and sand, as directed by Michael Vassar a few years ago. Emerging OXALIS include Oxalis pocockiae, which has sent out long thin singular stems each with a single blossom, all before any foliage, and I also have a few buds on my O. commutata, which does have emerging foliage also. Oxalis that are just showing foliage emerging now are also O.obtusa "rose", O. zeekoeviensis, O. luteola, O.imbricata, O. hirta, O, purpurea , and my tiny and lovely O.palmifrons, Oh, and my VERY favorite, O. braziliensis, which when in full foliage looks more like a mounded bun of an alpine plant than an oxalis. Now, when Michael Vassar spoke at the IBS Symposium a few years back, he insisted on using a soil mixture for Oxalis, that was much more closer to the soil that they grow in in South Afican, basically a low nutrient mixture of Sharp sand and pumice. I know that many of thse oxalis will also thrive in a richer soil, but that they will become monsters with lush foliage and such. However, I must note that some of what appear to be escaped O.obtusa or errant O. purpurea became deposited in sime of the larger tubs of citrus in the greenhouse last winter, they we're spectacular, to say the least, one orange flowered O.obtusa also ended up in the rich soil of a hanging plant, and it over shadowed the plant with incredible flowers. This year I repotted some O. purpurea hybrids and O. obtusa hybrids into a richer yet fast draining mix that I use for my fritialra and crocus collections, basically Ian Youngs' mix of one part leaf mold, two parts granite chips and two parts loam, with a touch of bone meal. I added some sharp pool sand to keep the mix dryer. I'll let you know what happens. Not that I like big showy hybrids, but these examples sure beat the single flower at a time that I would get from the same plants in the Pumice Mixture. I believe that certain Oxalis species do wel one way or the other, but I am looking for advice as to which Oxalis and what soils have other used to achieve a desired look. Many of my species I will, of course, continue to grow in the pumice mixture, it keeps them tight and dense. But which ones should I try experimenting with? Any thoughts? Matt Mattus Worcester, Massachusetts, USA Zone 5 Where "Margaret" our little Irish Terrier won Best Of Winners at the National Terrier Specialty at Montgomery last weekend. :)