Hi Jim > ......to me Oxalis is an alternate spelling for 'weed'. Unfortunately some species are rightly called weeds, in my experience they are all American species !! Seriously, though, I guess most Oxalis could be potential weeds if the conditions are good for them and IF they could escape from cultivation. All South African species are bulbous and many produce underground runners. If kept in pots on a shelf they will not escape, some might try the drainage holes as an escape route, but if checked regularly this can be prevented. It is also an indication that the potsize is too small. See also #3 below. > 1. Hardy Most of the winter growing species should be fairly hardy, maybe some of the American growers should comment on this. The summer growing species are dormant in winter, and should also be quite hardy. > 2. Easy to winter over in a cold climate Someone else with experience, please ? > 3. Not likely to jump around and become a new weed in pots Not likely to do so - seed production is very limited and rare in most species of South African Oxalis because not all three (or at least two) of the stylar forms that are needed for polination to occur are available in collections. Mostly the species propagate vegetatively, and thus would stay inside the pot where it was orriginally planted. Seeds might be produced in larger collections if many different localities or forms of similar species are present, as it increase the likelyhood that more than one stylar form is present. Four species-groups come to mind: Oxalis hirta, Oxalis obtusa, and Oxalis flava/fabaefolia/namaquana, O purpurea. > 4. Showy If looked after well most South African species can be beautiful during flowering, some species have unfortunately only a short flowering time. Some are quite nice as leafy plants, eg. O. flava, O. palmifrons, O.bowiei > Can someone give a list of top 10 easy/hardy etc Oxalis for > pot or ground? My favourites: O amigua, annae, bowiei, convexula, glabra, inaequalis, lawsonii, obtusa, purpurea, tenella O. obtusa and O. purpurea have may different forms, and you can build up a decent collection with only these two species. (I have more than 50 different O. obtusa colours and forms, and will easily accept more !) hope this helps Christiaan