Plant Guide

Other Names:  Pink Wood Sorrel, Windowbox Wood Sorrel

Description:

Rich clover-like bright green foliage, covered with dainty pink trumpets in spring, lighting 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

Pink Sorrel's attractive small fan-shaped leaves remain light green in color throughout the season on a plant with a mounded habit of growth.

Landscape Attributes

Pink Sorrel is a dense herbaceous annual 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.

Pink Sorrel is recommended for the following landscape applications;

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

Planting & Growing

Pink Sorrel will grow to be only 6 inches tall at maturity extending to 8 inches tall with the flowers, 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. Although it's not a true annual, this plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

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.

Pink 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 canvas of 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.