Spider mites
Fine webbing between the stems and pale stippling across the leaves are the signs of spider mites.
Diagnosis
Spider mites
What's happening
Spider mites are tiny sap-suckers that thrive in the warm, dry air indoors and love the thin, tender leaves of Oxalis triangularis. They pierce the cells and drain them, leaving a fine pale speckling that spreads until leaves look dusty and dull, and in bad infestations they spin delicate webbing across the foliage. They multiply fast on a stressed, crowded plant.
How to fix it
Isolate the plant so the mites don't spread. Rinse the foliage under a gentle stream of lukewarm water to knock down the population, then spray every surface — tops and undersides of leaves — with neem oil, repeating every five to seven days for three to four weeks to catch newly hatched mites. Raising the humidity around the plant and clearing away any dead leaves also makes it far less inviting.
What fixes it
- Neem oil for pests — Neem oil smothers spider mites and their eggs over repeated weekly sprays, breaking the breeding cycle.
If that doesn't fix it
This is general guidance based on common symptoms; individual plants vary.
Read the full Purple Shamrock care guide →
Reviewed June 2026 · how we check this