Shamrocks are considered to be symbols of good luck everywhere. If you're feeling unlucky, or feel like you need a quick shot of luck, you'll want to know how to find some. With proper techniques and a keen eye, you will be able to find shamrocks among regular clover seedlings with little effort.
Steps
Step 1. Find an area where clover grows
If you find an area where many seedlings have four leaves, perhaps it could be similar plants, such as Marsilea quadrifolia (whose leaves are triangular with rounded corners, and which grows well in wet soils) or Oxalis tetraphylla / deppei (purplish in the center, where meet the leaves). Your search must be directed to an area where there is the common clover (Trifolium repens, distinguished by its white flowers), the species that most easily produces plants with four leaves.
Step 2. Look over the clover
At the beginning of your research, don't focus on every single leaf and seedling. Gently pass your hand or foot over the area, and gaze so that it is attracted only by the particularities. If you find 3 or more shamrocks in less than 3 minutes, then you are sure you are in an interesting area. Mark the area and come back often to look for shamrocks, as the mutation here will repeat itself more easily. You will usually be able to find at least 10 shamrocks in an interesting area by looking carefully.
Step 3. Identify plants with four leaves
Most four-leaved clover seedlings have a leaflet that is smaller than the rest, or with red or white lines. The leaves can have a round or heart shape.
Step 4. Mark the area where you found the four leaf clover
The four-leaf clover is the result of a genetic defect in the roots of the clover plant. Most clovers grow from the same plant or from similar and neighboring plants. So if you've found a four-leaf clover, chances are there are others in the same area. Put a sign to identify the area and return to search later.
Step 5. Preserve lucky shamrocks by pressing them into a book
Step 6. If you want to preserve and preserve the seedling, take a sprout with roots, and place it in water away from direct light
When it starts to root, transplant it into the garden. The plant spreads quickly, and will have the same genetics as the original.
Step 7. Collect the flowers of this plant as soon as they turn brown
Store the seeds until spring, or place them in the freezer. Then plant the seeds and wait until the seedlings have a few dozen leaves before determining if they carry the modified gene. As long-time clover growers confirm, the latest generation carries the mutation gene in about 30% of seedlings.
Step 8. Clover does not grow well in pots, it is best to plant it in the ground as soon as possible
Furthermore, it is a sensitive plant to water shortage, and water deprivation can cause the plant to regress to only having three leaves, even if it is re-watered regularly and begins to reproduce again.
Advice
- Shamrocks are more common in walk-through or often trampled areas. Look near the paths and follow the passing tracks through the areas where the plant grows.
- The best time to look for shamrocks is while it is raining or when it has just rained.
- Mutated clovers are more common in late summer.
