Caring For Shamrock Plants
March 14, 2008 by Linette Gerlach
Filed under Container Garden, How to Grow Stuff, Seasons
Everyone thinks of Shamrocks as the three leaf symbol of St. Patrick’s Day. Many don’t know there is an actual shamrock plant. Shamrock plants are a tender potted plant that grows from a bulb like root system. The Shamrock plant is a popular gift this time of year but many recipients don’t know how to care for their new plant.
Shamrocks plants are easily grown as houseplants, they enjoy bright indirect sunlight. Since Shamrocks grow from a bulb, they enjoy a period of dormancy every year. During the winter months trim back the plants brown leaves, give the plant very little water, and place it in a cool place so it can go dormant for a month or two.
In the spring begin watering your shamrock plant and give it a dose of organic fertilizer to bring it back to life.
In the summer your shamrock can be placed outside in a shady location, and watered regularly. If it’s properly cared for your shamrock plant will reward you with small delicate white flowers.
Sorry about the unfinsihed E-mail above. Anyway, can anyone tell me when and how I should let my Shamrock enter dormancy here in the Northeast? I am guessing late November or early December and letting it stay there with just a bit of water now and then until mid-March. Thanks, anyone. Gary
Well Gary i live in the northern panhandle of WV and i moved my shamrock inside and its blooming like crazy so i just let it go and it will enter dormancy by its self
Hello fellow shamrock lovers! I am looking for info on caring for my purple and green shamrocks.
I live in St.Paul Minnesota and brought these back from my native home of Alabama in April. I planted them in a large plastic pot and had it outside on our step landing on the north face of our home. It has done awesome but do I bring it in now for wintertime and what suggestions do any of you have for how to care fore it now? Thank you so much for any help. God Bless, Donna
Donna,
I keep my Shamrock inside all year and it’s on a table in my bedroom which gets the east/south sun. But I do angle the vertical blinds so it doesn’t get really hot sun, otherwise the leaves close up as they do at nighttime. I use Miracle Gro or Schultz fertilizer once a month and water regularly from the top around the edge of the pot.
Donna: i hope you have your shamrock inside by now.They cannot stay outdoors over winter. i have mine in a 1st fl bathroom with a skylight and it is doing great.I water it once a month and do not fertilize during the winter.In the spring i start fertilizing in the spring and continue about once a month till fall. I use a organic liquid fish fertilizer ` Tbl spoon per gal of water
if i leave my shamrock plant in the dark for 24 hours will the leaves stay “closed”?
Richard: Thanks for the info in your response to Donna with respect to watering shamrocks while they are dormant over the winter months. Like so many of the site’s correspondents, I have learned what to do, but not necessarily when to do it. Now I know, water lightly once a month and no fertilizer until the spring.
YOU GOT IT RIGHT NOW ….GARY
erin: WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO LEAVE YOUR SHAMROCK PLANT IN THE DARK FOR 24 HRS IN THE 1ST PLACE
I am having a similar problem as Britt’s post – I have four of five very healthy shamrock plants at home, and I brought one into work. I dont’ sit near a window, but the plant seems to be doing alright under fluorescent light – however, just recently it started to have some “burnt” spots on the leaves – right around the edges of the most mature leaves – and they don’t look as purple on the backs as younger healthier leaves. Any ideas as to why the burnt marks are appearing more and more? Thanks! -Anne
I think shamrock plants are beautiful: however I just bought a home and the backyard is full of them. Any ideas on how to get rid of them. My backyard has very tall pines and was covered with about 7 inches of pine needles. We cleared away all the pine needles and wow the amount of shamrock bulbs is unreal. I want to plant grass the soil is so healthy and really don’t want to spray round-up. Any suggests are welcome
Carla~ Sorry but completely different plant than what we’re talking about here:-(
My cat knocked over my Shamrock plant and most of the shoots off the root bulbs. I re-potted the bulbs with shoots in one pot and re-potted the bare bulbs in another. The bulbs with shoots seems to be recovering, while the bulbs with no shoots are doing nothing. Did the shock send them into dormancy? Do they need any special care to recover?
I WOULDNT SAY THAT THE BULBS WENT DORMANT BUT THAT THEY JUST NEED TIME TO REGROW ROOTS.I WOULD KEEPTHEM WATERED AND BE PATIENT AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS
Hey, Richard: Here it is the end of a chilly March ouside DC and I am wondering if I should take my plant out of dormancy now or wait a couple of weeks. I’ve lightly watered it once a month during the winter, per your recommendation last Fall, and it looks good. Gary
wow gary i cant remember yesterday let alone last fall but if we are talking about a shamrock
plant i wouldntput it outside just yet,i would wait till at least mid april.here in WV the last frost is around may 10th so i dont put mine out in sunroom until after that.minr did bloom all winter
I’ve had my shamrock for about 4 weeks now. I planted it from bulbs and it took off rather fast. Now the stems are 6-8 inches high. My concern is that the stems are so high they can no longer support themselves. My coworker refers to it as “leggy.” The plants are sitting near a window and get both sunlight and movement when I have a window open. I don’t think temperature is a problem, it’s usually in the mid 60-70s in our office. Should I be concerned with the height of the stems? Should I cut it back?
well i have had my shamrock plant for several years and the stems get about 7 inches tall and then bloom and die and new ones start so i have never cut it back
I have a had a green Shamrock for five(5) years and it has never gone dormant and constantly blooms. The first 4 years all summer it was in the outdoor shade and was misted twice a day by a drip system that was misting some ferns we have. I was wonder about this lack of dormancy? is it because we live in a warmer climate. so far no signs of distress or diseases. I mist it once a day during the cold weather
Hello,
When I lived in the States I always had shamrock plants in my house. They always did very well unless I had to move them. I live in Spain now and have been looking for some with no luck. I went out to my balcony yesterday and have a large dying plant I was thinking of throwing out. When I looked underneath I found quite a crop of large dark green shamrocks. They look identical to the ones I had in the states, but the stems are a bit shorter. Are these the same as the others? And are they suitable for transplanting and keeping as a houseplant? I can’t imagine how they got there, but I was happy to find them.
I was given a very small shamrock approx. 15 years ago. It has sat in my office ever since. I’ve repotted it twice to larger clay pots. I did not know it is suppose to go dormant. It has thrived in a window with blinds. I tilt them when the sun is very hot. Now we have downsized our
offices and I am in a room without windows and will need to take it home. I am terrified the move will kill it. I love this plant. Are there any tips as to when to move it (time of day) or should I just leave it in the office where it is now getting some light from a distant window?
JUST DO IT GRACE, IT WILL DIE WITHOUT LIGHT
HELP!!! I have part of a Shamrock plant which was brought over from Europe following WWII. I’m 36 now, and the plant is obviously older than me, and is like a family heirloom. At one point in December, I must have accidentally over-watered it, as I found about 2″ of standing water in it when I returned from the Holidays. I immediately dumped it out, and dried off the soil w/paper towels, and subsequently, replanted it. After about 3 wks, a new stem showed up, and I thought it was doing fine. My apt. is in the back of the building next to pine trees, and doesn’t get a lot of sunlight, so I thought perhaps moving the plant out to the deck would give it some much-needed sunlight, and revive it. I water it using an Aquaglobe, and it also has some Miracle Grow sticks in the soil.
Now, the last remaining surviving stem is barely opening and it just kind of lies there limp and suffering. What do I need to do to bring this plant back to its beautiful glory?!!! I refuse to be responsible for killing off a cherished family heirloom! Do I need to divide the corm (bulb) and start over, or bring the plant back inside?
PLEASE SOMEONE HELP–I AM DESPERATE AND I LOVE THIS PLANT DEARLY!!!
Thanks
WELL JERZRRRGIRL THE 1ST THING I WOULD DO IS TAKE OUT THE AQUAGLOBE AND LET THE SOIL DRY OUT BEFORE WATERING IT AGAIN AND GET RID OF THE MIRACLE GRO STICKS.I ONLY FEED MY SHAMROCK ABOUT EVERYOTHER MONTH AND I USE 1 TBL SPOON OF LIQUID FISH ELMULSION PER GAL OF WATER AND FEED ALL OF MY PLANTS.MY SHAMROCK IS DOING JUST FINE AND IS ALWAYS IN BLOOM
I have lots of roses and flowers in pots. I seem to have shamrocks growing in every single potted plant I have outside on my deck. Do they grow wild? I ask since I never planted any shamrocks. I did have a plant that died a few years ago and then this year they are growing everywhere. I get the pretty orange blooms and I just noticed the other day that they close up at night.
I , too love my red and green plants, someone I know gave me some great tips to grow and transplant the bulbs using the soil for African Violets. Since I have done this I have such healthy and perlific plants and have given many bulbs away as gifts to friends…try it!
APB
I am one of those people who cannot grow anything, but I can grow shamrocks! I have had a shamrock plant in my bedroom for 25 years now and it just keeps going. It’s near a window with light all afternoon. I water the plant once a week on the same day and water it thoroughly. I do get flowers several times a year. I always panic when the dormant period arrives and I start getting shriveled brown leaves. But I pull them off and resist overwatering the plant. After a while I get new growth and as others have said, it is stronger than before. Shamrocks are great plants as they can survive even when you are away for awhile. Once you return and water them again, they come right back.
From one red & purple Shamrock plant given to me as a gift, I have cultivated a forest of them by taking one stem and potting them in all kinds of containers, then you see the tiniest little baby shamrock leave & stalks popping up through the soil. I have a large one hanging in my kitchen window in indirect sunlight, but also in every window of the house I have potted them in small jars, tiny bottles with only one or two stalks, pepper tins, all kinds of containers, and I love them. But lately all of my Shamrocks don’t seem to be doing well, especiallly the bigger ones, they just seem kind of lethargic & unhealthy, droopy stalks, ect. I only water them every 2-3 days, but I’ve never given them any kind of fertilizer. Would some fertilizer help, or do they go dormant in summertime or what ?? Please help, I love these plants !!!
I received 3 shamrock bulbs as “freebies” from a gardening company when I placed an order. I have no idea what to do with them. Should I put them outside or inside? If outside, how far to space them, how high do they grow or spread? If indoors, one bulb per container? Thamks!
my purple shamrock is getting rust spots on the leaves and looking puny. what do i need to do to help the poor thing
I have had shamrocks for nearly 10 years and have only grown them outside since I moved to SC last year. They are doing so well that we had to separate them this spring. Now that they are growing again, I am getting the rust spots on only one of the five sections that I have divided the original shamrock into. At first it was only on the lower leaves, but now it seems to have spread to most of the very large plant. PLEASE if someone knows what this is or can tell me how to get rid of it, I would GREATLY appreciate it!!
I live between 5 and 6 zone .wouldlike to know if my shamrock plant will live outside in this zone
Shamrock plants …one plant can be turned into hundreds of plants. They grow into these long stringing bulbs. Break them apart and each of these pieces will grow more plants. I just took a plant pot and made several more plant pots which I will give to friends.
pannebeckerl~ Shamrock plants can be put outside during the summer (I would put them in a sheltered location), but will have to be brought in before it frosts in the fall, or it won’t survive in a zone 5 or 6. In some of the southern zones where it doesn’t get below freezing you can leave your shamrock plant outdoors all year round.
tony~ Make sure your shamrock is getting enough sunlight, and you don’t let it sit in water. Richard has some great tips above if you read through them. Fish emulsion makes a great fertilizer, about once a month during the summer months.
I love my shamrock, and it’s been so happy and healthy. But recently, the leaves have spots and the tips of the leaves look shrivled, they’re all dry and brown and look like they’ve been burned.
The plant went from being georgous and healthy and green and flowery to sad and spotty and burned.
What did I do wrong? Any way to fix?
I was given a Shamrock for St. Patrick’s Day and it has been doing well. Now it is getting little orange growths sticking up. From reading, I guess they are bulbs, but I don’t know what to do about them. They are all over the place. One of the plants has at least 8 sticking up out of the soil. What should I do with these? Can I start other plants off of it? Any advice is appreciated!
Four years ago I was given a huge pot containing several cactus plants that bloom at different times of the year. Another plant with thin leggy stems that grow almost 2 feet long in spring/summer, with 4 heart-shaped green leaves with burgundy centers and pink flowers, is also in the pot. It dies back for the winter and is beautiful in the summer. Does this sound like a shamrock plant? Can I use a sharp knife to cut down into the soil for a piece to start another plant?
I have purple shamrocks and they have been doing great for such a long time ,for several years that is.I have divided and repotted them several times and shared them many times.But now I have a problem that I cannot seem to find an answer for,some of them are proceeding to turn a pale greenish slight purple tint with it,they still bloom and grow do all of the normal things but they are not pretty,and I do not know what to do for this.Please give me some help.
I have a shamrock plant that I’ve had for years and it’s doing great! I am of the opinion that they do not like to be touched, by people fingers – my husband always teases me and touches “her.” It seems that whenever “she” is touched, that leaf gets a yellow spot on it. Is it true that they don’t like to be touched? I think they do NOT – my husband thinks I’m silly. Please let me know if you know. Thank you!
my daughters bought me a beautiful shamrock in May i water in from the bottom, in a clay pot, once a week. the leaves are drooping
it was so beautiful at first now I think i’m killing it
HELP
also i keep it away from the window, does it need lots light
i really want it to do well
jackie p ~ I have found that my shamrocks like more light than not. We had a bought of orange rot this year, but I seem to have them bouncing back, finally. Good luck!
callie: i think your silly
I too am having the same problem as ncurls. Mine has brown edges around the leaves.Anyone know the reason why and how to stop it?
your comments on caring for a shamrock plant was a bit vague. I wanted to know when do I put my shamrock into dorment stage and for how long. I am confused. some say only for 2 months others say place it in dark space from november till february. Does the place have to be completely dark or just barely? I have stopped giving my plant water so that what is left in the soil and leaves itself have vanished so I can get it to go dorment. am I doing the right thing. thanking you in advance for your advice.
I want to bring a shamrock plant to my home, but I want to make sure that if my cats nibble on it, they won’t get sick or die. Are shamrock plants ok to have with cats around?