what to plant with oxalis

Hi! My co-worker has a purple oxalis plant at the office and it has only 3 very spindly and lonely looking stems. Can you suggest other plants it can share a pot with so that it doesn't look so sparse?

I'd probably work on figuring out what might be making the plant unhappy instead--it could be full and nice, but something is probably slightly off in the conditions it's being kept in and is making it spindly, so if he puts other things in the pot he might just end up with several other spindly looking things. Given that it's in an office not getting enough light would be a prime suspect, or erratic watering. Or maybe it needs some fertilizer.

I have seen these growing in offices under proper conditions. They were full and blooming nicely. It certainly sounds like an environmental factor is causing it to be spindly.

It's never really had more that 4 or 5 stems that I know of.

I took care of it last December for her during her 2-week holidays and it flourished under my care -- I put it under our stronger desk lights during the day and repotted it. Lo and behold, a couple of weeks later, it bloomed for the first time in years!!! I know she's been overwatering them lately and that it doesn't get enough light at her new desk. She's on vacation again next week and I want to repot it again to get rid of the very soggy soil. The reason I'm thinking of repotting it with another plant (like ivy) is because I figure the oxalis will not have to bear the brunt of the (unintentional) abuse if something is sharing the pot with it! LOL!!

DP72 -- can you tell me what "proper conditions" would be in an office environment for this plant?

An office environment shouldn't be any different from any other indoor environment unless co-workers pour their leftover drinks on the plant! Plants always prefer outdoors, if the conditions meet their needs, but oxalis can do well inside. You mentioned the lighting- natural light from a window would be great- the more, the better. The overwatering- why does she do that? Does the container have a drain hole? Is it sitting in a saucer of water? The finger test will tell her when to water. If the top 2 or 3 inches of the soil feel dry, and don't feel cool (from moisture) then it's time to water thoroughly, allowing the excess water to drain out the bottom. This will need to be done at a sink or in the restroom. You're in Canada. That means the heat runs a lot of the time, resulting in low humidity inside. Most plants like as much humidity in the air as they can get.
But there is nothing she can do about that. Misting or setting the pot on rocks or marbles standing in water would be a waste of time. A dilute amount of liquid fertilizer dissolved in the water every 3rd watering or so is a good idea. Balanced analysis fertilizer. If the plant has been stretching for the light, or is otherwise spindly and doesn't have enough stems, it can be cut back to soil level and it should come out fresh and more full.
From what you say, maybe you ought to adopt the oxalis and let her come by and visit it! Would she be happy with a silk plant?

She didn't realize the plant was double potted and had left water in the bottom pot for the longest time. I will have to inspect the roots for rot tomorrow. I'll take a pic of the plant and post it, too, so you can see what I mean by spindly.

I don't think she'll be happy with a silk plant. The shamrock was a gift and she has a rather sentimental attachment to it. Her problem is that she gets so busy that she forgets to take care of it and then overcompensates, I think. I'll talk to her about adopting it. :-)

Sounds like that poor plant has had a tough life! No wonder it's a bit spindly, sounds like she should be happy it's even still alive. The watering needs to be corrected, once you do that and ideally get it a little more light than what it's had up until now it'll probably perk up and put out some new growth and become fuller.