Lucky clover cannot only be grown from seeds. The plants produce many small bulbs that spread throughout the garden. The bulbs can also be used to grow new plants for pots that you can give as gifts on New Year's Eve or New Year.
How do I propagate lucky clovers from onions?
To propagate lucky clover from onions, carefully divide the small brown onions from the mother plant in autumn and place them in potting soil in prepared pots. The bulbs are best overwintered frost-free in small pots with garden soil and little water.
Lucky clover has small bulbs with roots
Lucky clover forms small, brown bulbs that can be between 1.5 and 3.5 centimeters long and up to 3 centimeters wide. After three years they separate from the mother plant and continue to grow as an independent plant. There are small roots at the ends of the bulbs, which primarily serve to ensure that the lucky clover finds a firm hold in the soil.
Growing new plants from bulbs
To propagate lucky clover from bulbs, simply dig up the plants in the fall and divide the bulbs carefully. Then place them in prepared pots with potting soil (€6.00 on Amazon).
Even if you transplant a lucky clover plant in a pot, you can separate bulbs for propagation.
Wintering onions properly
You can easily overwinter lucky clover outside in a convenient location. However, if the place is unprotected so that it gets colder than minus ten degrees for a long time, the onions will freeze. To overwinter them, you either have to dig them up in autumn or plant them straight away in a pot or bowl.
If you want to overwinter lucky clover bulbs indoors, place the freshly dug bulbs in small pots with garden soil that is not too nutrient-rich. Before doing so, you should remove all parts of the plant that are still green.
Keep potted lucky clover in a frost-free place until the end of May. Water little and do not fertilize the plants. Don't plant the lucky clover outdoors until the end of May, when the Ice Saints are over. Find a good location where the lucky clover receives several hours of sun per day.
Tip
The lucky clover (Oxalis) is not related to the sweet clover (Trifolium) that grows in gardens and meadows. In contrast to sweet clover, lucky clover, which is a wood sorrel species, always has four leaves. It is therefore often given away as a good luck charm for the New Year.