Crimson clover is not only beautiful to look at - it also has many useful properties and is even edible. Here you can find out how you can grow red clover yourself and what you need to know.
Incarnate clover (Trifolium incarnatum) is also called rose clover, blood clover or Italian clover. It belongs to the family of legumes (Faboideae) and is related to our native and well-known meadow or red clover (Trifolium pratense). However, the herbaceous plant with the blood-red flowers is far more than just a weed. Not only is the clover beautiful to look at, it also improves the soil and is edible. You can find out how to grow rose clover in your own garden, use it in the kitchen and multiply it yourself in our large fact sheet about crimson clover.
Crimson Clover: Origin and Properties
Why the crimson clover is also called 'Italian clover' can be explained by its origin: The herbaceous plant originally comes from southern Europe and is native to the Mediterranean region. However, the clover was also introduced to other parts of the world via its use as a fodder plant and has become wild there. Blood clover was also introduced to us as a neophyte, i.e. as a non-native plant, and can be seen in meadows or on the edges of fields. However, its distribution is not considered problematic.
This annual plant can grow surprisingly large for a clover: the hairy stems shoot up to 50 cm. In addition to the tripartite and obovate leaves typical of clover, the plant also presents magnificent, red inflorescences that can grow up to 6 cm long. Like all clover species, the crimson clover also forms a legume at the end of the flowering period that contains a large number of small, yellowish seeds.
Crimson clover as green manure
Rose clover is typically grown as a cover crop in fields. Like all types of clover, the herb can bind nitrogen from the air with the help of a symbiosis with specialized bacteria and is therefore ideal as green manure. So, in the vegetable garden, crimson clover can be used to improve the nutrient content of the soil. shecan sow the clover after the vegetable harvest and simply leave it over the winter. Alternatively, it can also be harvested and used as feed for farm animals.
Apart from its practical use, blood clover is part of ornamental flower mixtures, because its bushy growth and the blood-red butterfly flowers have something special and extravagant about it.
Note: The flowers of the crimson clover also produce copious amounts of nectar and pollen, making them very popular with bees, butterflies and other small beneficial insects.
Crimson Clover Varieties
There are also different types of crimson clover, which can be used in different ways depending on how they are used. The 'Linkarus' variety, for example, forms a lot of mass quickly and has a high protein content. It is therefore often used as animal feed. The 'Contea' variety, on the other hand, transports nutrients upwards from the deeper soil layers through its roots, which are up to 90 cm deep, and is therefore often planted as a preceding crop. 'Heuers Ostsaat' is a particularly fast-growing variety that is planted in the classic way as a cover crop and also provides good fresh fodder.
However, if you want to plant the blood clover as an ornamental plant or as a bee friend in the garden, you don't have to pay attention to the variety . From a purely visual point of view, there are no major differences between them.
Growing Crimson Clover
Crimson Clover can be grown both in the kitchen and in the garden. Whether in a sprout jar or in a vegetable patch - we'll show you how to do it.
Sowing blood clover
Blood clover is easy to sow in the garden or in a large pot. The best period for this is from May to July. The herbaceous plant makes no special demands on its subsoil, but sandy, loamy soil with good drainage is best. Very heavy or very dry soils, on the other hand, are less suitable. The seeds should be placed about 2 cm deep in the ground. 30 g of seeds per square meter are enough.
In its function as green manure, crimson clover can be used both as a pre-crop and as a post-crop for many types of vegetables. Clover does not get along with other legumes (Fabiaceae) such as beans or peas. Before sowing the vegetable crops, the clover should be mowed down and worked into the top soil layers. If you use the blood clover as a secondary crop, you can use it over theLeave it for the winter and only cut and work it in in the spring.
Growing sprouts from rose clover
Cultivating blood clover sprouts works similarly to other sprouts. Wash the seeds and place them in a suitable germinator or sprouting jar. Then rinse the seeds twice a day with fresh water and ensure an ambient temperature of around 20 °C. After about a week your rose clover should start to sprout.
Conventional rose clover seeds are not suitable for growing sprouts. Therefore, make sure that you purchase special germination seeds for this purpose. This was specially selected for growing sprouts and has a particularly high germination rate. Conventional seeds have a slightly higher proportion of poorly germinating seeds, which can be prone to mold growth in the warm, humid environment.
Propagating blood clover
Even if crimson clover is quite hardy and can withstand temperatures down to -10 °C, the herbaceous plants usually only live for one or two years at most. So that you can always grow new rose clover, it makes sense to harvest the seeds at the end of the year. The seeds are ready for harvest when the legumes are brown and dry.
Tip: Store the seeds in a dark, cool and dry place. An opaque storage jar, which is best kept in the basement, is suitable for this.
You can also just let nature take its course and wait for the legumes to pop open by themselves. Then the seeds will disperse in the local area and if the location suits the plant you will see blood clover growing in the same spot again next year.
Using Crimson Clover
Incarnate clover is also edible for humans. The seeds are usually used for this. These can be roasted and used as a topping for salads or other summer dishes. But the sprouts and flowers are also edible and can be used for the same purposes.
By the way, the crimson clover is not the only representative of the legumes that has a lot to offer. In our overview you can get to know a whole range of other special legumes.