Clover is not just clover anymore

2018-09-07

Beautiful as they are this is a strange place to be

I just like clover and bought a plant because, I needed some new ones as a replacement for my own flowers, that have finished flowering this year - but I had no idea, that white clover has been made so complicated to buy, as seeds or/and the complete plant.

To me it is a very strange situation to be in, an ethical dilemma actually, do I buy these plants which is really beautiful, who someone have spent a lot of time and care developing?

One of the types of white clover on this list was described, as a plant that multiply aggressively, which must mean, you have to be over it constantly, in order to make sure, it is not take over your entire garden. Can these man-made plants really be controlled, even only in pots on a balcony? I don't know.

This is where the dilemma becomes really tricky to me, should I buy these plants if they prove to be extremely effective in helping pollinators, the answer is yes, but on the other hand if being so competitive in nature, that they pose a serious threat, to the survival of the original wild white clover, the answer has to be no, solely of ethical reasons.

Some of the Trifolium Repens names that came up, when I tried to find out which my clover exactly are:

Trifolium repens 'Jessica'
Trifolium repens 'Josephine'
Trifolium repens 'Isabella'
Trifolium repens 'Estelle'
Trifolium repens 'Leonore'
Trifolium repens 'Dark Debbie'
Trifolium repens 'Sweet Mike'
Trifolium repens 'Good Luck'
Trifolium repens 'Pentaphyllum'
Trifolium repens 'Green ice'
Trifolium repens 'Purpurascens Quadrifolium'
Trifolium repens 'Atropurpureum'
Trifolium repens 'Dragons Blood'
Trifolium repens 'Dark Dancer'
Trifolium Repens 'Tricolori'
Trifolium Repens 'Silverspur'
Trifolium Repens 'Ebony'

Beautiful as they are, I still have to reconsider this choice, buying these types of clover or not, I have to think deeply about this and consider how I personally relate to this topic, not only in relation to the clover but to all the plants on my balcon.