Trifolium alexandrinum
Berseem clover
Common names: Egyptian clover, Alexandrian clover
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Lifespan
- Annual
- Flowering
- Jul–Sep
- Hardiness
- Cold damage below −3 °C
- Water need
- Medium
Photo: Fornax at German Wikipedia · Public Domain · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
Alexandrian clover, botanically Trifolium alexandrinum, is an annual clover native to the Mediterranean region. Known as bersim, it has been cultivated in Egypt since antiquity, which is why it is also called Egyptian clover. It grows upright, reaching 30 to 60 cm in height, and up to 1 m under good conditions. In high summer it bears creamy white to yellowish white flower heads that attract bees and bumblebees. In the garden it is used as a fast-growing summer green manure. It forms a dense cover over bare or harvested beds within a few weeks, keeps weeds down, and thoroughly penetrates the soil with its roots. Root nodule bacteria on its roots bind nitrogen from the air, benefiting the soil. It loves warmth and dies back at the first hard frost in autumn.
Care instructions
Sow Alexandrian clover from early May to mid August on a loose, finely crumbled bed in full sun. Sowing earlier is usually too cold for the soil, so seeds germinate poorly or young seedlings are caught by late frost. Keep the soil evenly moist until germination, and later water only during prolonged dry spells, but then thoroughly. Cut or mow the plants at the start of flowering, let the cuttings wilt for a few days, then work them in shallowly or lay them down as mulch. This way the bound nitrogen benefits your next vegetable crop. If you leave the stand until frost, the plants die back and protect the soil over winter. In crop rotation, count it among the legumes: do not grow peas, beans, or other clover species on the same bed directly before or after it.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingMay–Aug
FloweringJul–Sep
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 8 °C, ideally 18 °C
- Days to sprout
- 5 to 10 days
- Light
- Sprouts in light or dark
- Sowing depth
- 1.5 cm
- How to start
- Sow straight into the bed
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
loamy, humus-rich, well-drained
Berseem clover grows best on loose, humus-rich loamy soil that stays evenly fresh. On very light sandy soils that dry out quickly it struggles, because it tolerates prolonged drought poorly. It does not like acidic soils; a pH between 6 and 7.5 suits it well. Loosen compacted spots before sowing so that its roots can penetrate deeply and no water stands.
Feeding
Light feeder
Berseem clover needs no fertiliser. Through the nodule bacteria on its roots it supplies itself with nitrogen from the air, and extra nitrogen tends to inhibit nodule formation. On very depleted beds, rake in some mature compost shallowly before sowing. Your bed gets the real benefit later, when you mow the plants down and work them in.
Overwintering
Berseem clover is not hardy and does not overwinter. The first hard frost in autumn kills the plants. That is practical, because you do not have to control it in spring: the dead plant mass lies on the bed over winter as a mulch cover and protects the soil from leaching and capping. In spring you rake the remains off or work them in shallowly. It does not become a weed here in Central Europe.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
You propagate berseem clover only from seed, which you buy as ready-made green manure seed. You can hardly collect your own seed in the garden, because the seeds do not ripen reliably here in Central Europe. Sow directly in the bed once the soil has warmed up, that is from the beginning of May to mid-August. Rake the bed to a fine crumb, scatter the small seeds broadcast, rake them in about 1 cm deep and firm the surface. Keep it evenly moist until germination. In warmth the seeds emerge after 1 to 2 weeks; in cold soil they germinate poorly.
Companion planting
Good neighbors
cabbage family (Brassicaceae)
particularly well establishedLeguminous plants collect nitrogen in the soil, from which Brassicaceae benefit as heavy feeders.
For example White cabbageKohlrabiRadishKalebroccolicauliflower and 41 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
carrot family (Apiaceae)
Peas and beans provide carrot and celery with nitrogen and grow as shallow-rooted plants without competition next to each other.
For example CarrotCeleriacDillParsleyFlorence fennelCoriander and 21 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
Rather not
amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae)
particularly well establishedAllium species inhibit the nitrogen‑fixing rhizobia of legumes through their root exudates, which slows their growth.
For example GarlicOnionLeekChivesWild daffodilRocambole and 12 more species in the catalogue
Source: basic crop‑rotation rule
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
For your garden
Grow Berseem clover yourself
Gartenkern tells you when frost is coming, when to sow and when to harvest, for your location.
Free, no time limit
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