March
2023
PICKAWAY TO GARDEN
“Shamrock”
By Paul Hang
When
is a shamrock not a shamrock? Answer: When it is a real rock. OK, I apologize
for that one. Sham means a thing that is not what it is purported to mean,
false. When trying to write a column for March and St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th,
I thought I’d write about the plant commonly known as shamrock. I was in for a
surprise which I thought I’d share.
Shamrock
was first mentioned in the 1500’s. The Gaelic word is seamrog. St. Patrick was
said to have used it as a symbol of the Christian Holy Trinity. It was used as
a symbol of the 19th century Irish Nationalist groups and became a
symbol of Ireland itself. On St. Patrick’s Day you will see shamrocks depicted everywhere.
You might be tempted to buy a “Shamrock” Plant at a local nursery, grocery
store or over the internet for a decoration. Beware! You might be buying a sham
shamrock plant. Caveat emptor.
What
passes for a “Shamrock” plant is probably a type of Oxalis, (also known as wood sorrel). The clover shaped leaves come
in shades of green, red, or purple. They may fold up at night or on cloudy
days. The flowers, with five petals, borne on long stalks, may be white,
yellow, pink or red. Oxalis acetosella has green heart-shaped “leaves of three.” If you want real shamrocks,
leave them be.
Another
example of sham shamrocks is Oxalis triangularis with, get this, purple foliage
and with leaves much bigger than your clover in the lawn. And, it’s from South
South America! These oxalis plants are flowering bulbs. Being part Irish, I
wanted the real thing. I figured I
needed the Luck O’ the Irish. “Lucky Clover” was advertised with Iron Cross as
an example. Oxalis tetraphylla has four green leaves with purple centers and is
not a clover. For the care and feeding of these imposters go to:
extension.umn.edu.
Searching
further, I read that white clover, Trifolium repens is the true shamrock. White
clover is the diminutive green ground cover with three heart-shaped leaves and little
white pompom flowers that used to make up most of our lawns back in the dark
ages of my youth. It is commonly considered a lawn weed but lately its
popularity is coming back. As luck would have it, (one in ten thousand has four
leaves) my search was not over. There is another contender back in the Ould Sod.
Lesser
Yellow Trefoil or lesser clover, Trifolium dubium is considered to be the true
shamrock by roughly half of the Irish people and Trifolium repens (white
clover) by another third according to a survey in 1988. Neither are unique to
Ireland and both are in the Pea or legume family (Fabaceae) of plants that
increase nitrogen in the soil. This is another example of why common names of
plants can be confusing and why botanists rely on the Latin names. So, if you
want the “real” shamrock, and not the sham, get Trifolium dubium. And, keep
this in mind the next time you shampoo the dog. Erin go Bragh.
Things to do in the
garden:
Begin
fertilizing houseplants with a weak solution. Now is a good time to propagate
houseplants. March may not be too late to try winter sowing. What is winter
sowing? It is a way of germinating seeds. Google “winter sowing” for more information.
Have your soil tested. Materials and
directions are normally available at the OSU Extension Office.
The
last average frost date here in zone 6 is April 23rd. That means
there is a 50/50 chance of frost on that date. A number of seeds should be
started this month. Check your seed packet for the number of days to harvest
and count back to the date you want to plant your seeds or set out your plants.
A word to the wise, don’t set out your plants too early unless you are prepared
to protect them should the odds work against you.
Rake
the lawn to remove the twigs, leaves, and other winter detritus. Dig out those
biennial weeds before they get established. Now is a good time to plant trees
and shrubs and bare root roses. The earlier you transplant perennials the
better they will do. When is the soil ready to be worked? Soil that sticks to
your spade is too wet to work and will be compacted. Make a ball of soil and
drop it. If it crumbles it is ready to work.
Before
those buds break, spray fruit trees with dormant oil. Read the directions. Prune
damaged, diseased, and dead limbs. Also, prune those limbs that grow inward,
suckers and water sprouts. Do not remove more than a third of the tree. Prune
deciduous trees and shrubs that bloom in the summer. Prune spring flowering
trees and shrubs after they bloom. Prune raspberry canes and grapevines and
fall flowering clematis.
If
you cut back perennials and ornamental grasses (tying up the grasses before
cutting them back to about six inches saves a lot of clean up), don’t throw
them in the trash or onto the compost pile. Store them until we have a few warm
days (temps above 50 F) to give overwintering insects a chance to emerge. Pull
back mulch from around perennials on warm days but be prepared to cover them
back up if a hard freeze threatens.
Late
March and April is the time to apply a pre-emergent to the lawn if you want to
prevent crabgrass. The best indicator for this is the first bloom of Callery
Pear. But be forewarned, pre-emergents prevent seeds from sprouting. Apply pre-emergent
on a calm day. There are now selective pre-emergents that do not affect grass seed.
If you plan to seed any parts of your lawn, don’t apply a non-selective to
those areas. This warning also applies to areas where you plan to plant vegetables
and flowers by directly seeding in the soil. A light fertilization of the lawn
is all you’ll need.
Go
to weather.cfaes.osu.edu/gdd for phenology information on when plants flower
and insects emerge.
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