Trifolium rubens
Red trefoil
- Height × spread
- 0.6m × 0.6m
- Position
- Full sun
- Hardiness
- Colder than -20C (RHS H7)
- Flowers
- Summer
Availability
Please ask in store about availability
Many plants are seasonal. Call 01234 567890 to check current stock.
About this plant
A rather attractive plant that makes a spreading clump of upright stems that carry long slim leaves which arch out from the stems. The green leaves are covered in hairs and are soft, even velvety to the touch. The flowers are carried at the stem tips and appear from mid to late summer. They are cone-shaped or oblong, opening from the base with strongly coloured red-purple flowerlets that contrast with the unopened silvered buds at their top.
- Flower colour
- Red
- Foliage colour
- Green
- Variegated
- No
- Scent
- No
- Shape
- Bell
- Height
- 0.6m
- Spread
- 0.6m
- Season of interest
- Summer
- Flowers in
- Summer
- Evergreen
- Deciduous
- Garden style
- Wild flower meadow, Prairie garden, Cottage garden
- Sun or shade
- Likes full sun
- Soil type
- Chalk, Loam (normal)
- Soil pH
- All types
- Drainage
- Moisture retentive soil, Well drained soil
- Hardiness
- Colder than -20C (RHS H7)
- Borders & containers
- Borders
- Use for
- Bee attraction, Sensory garden (tactile)
- Hazards
- No
Spring
Spring-Autumn · Outdoors
Water to keep the soil moist
For best results, this plant needs soil that is always moist. Water deeply and regularly as soon as soil appears dry. Even for established plants in the ground, a dry week can cause problems with some soils. Check plants in pots more often, especially in hot weather. Or install an automatic irrigation system which will do the hard work for you, even when you are away on holiday.
Without regular watering some plants never fully regain their beauty.
Spring - early-mid · Planting
Divide when too large
The plant can be divided if it becomes too large or another plant is required. This may involve physically dividing the clump in two, removing offsets or small bulbs or dividing rhizomes. The new plants can be grown in pots or planted in the ground.