Red Clover

Red clover is completely hardy and needs no winter protection. Simply leave it standing; the foliage dies back in autumn and sprouts again by itself in spring. On heavy, wet soils keep the site free-draining or loosen it slightly, as it tolerates winter wet less well than frost.

The easiest way to propagate red clover is by sowing, which is possible directly outdoors from mid-March to the end of August. Choose a sunny to partly shaded spot with free-draining, moderately moist soil. Red clover is a light germinator: scatter the seed thinly on the prepared surface, press it in only and cover it at most lightly with 0.5 to 1 cm of soil; deeper, it germinates poorly. In warm soil (from approx. 10 °C, optimal around 25 °C) the first seedlings appear after a good one to two weeks. Gardeners like a spring sowing so that the plants have the whole summer to establish; a second sowing in July or August gives strong young plants for next year. Since red clover is short-lived (usually 2 to 3 years), it is worth collecting a little seed of your own: at the end of flowering, let a few fully ripened flower heads dry and rub out the seeds. As a second method, you can divide older, well-established plants in early spring. This is only moderately easy, however, because red clover forms a deep taproot and not runner-forming clumps like some perennial clovers: carefully dig up a strong mother plant, as deep as possible, divide it with a sharp spade into a few pieces each with enough root and shoots, and replant the pieces straight away in a prepared spot. This method is quicker than sowing, but only works with vigorous, perennial plants.