Celebrate the Irish

What to Plant Now

St. Patrick’s Day is a traditional day to plant potatoes, so the season is upon us now. Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, and other cool-season crops should be planted this month for delicious spring harvests. Mouth-watering strawberries should be planted now for delicious berries this summer—plant them in a sunny, well-drained bed. Plant sweet peas for bouquets of delightful blooms. This is also the last call for bare-root fruit trees, the most economical way to plant an orchard, so choose your trees now.

• Potatoes (Yukon Gold, Red La Soda, Yellow Finn, French Fingerling, German Butterball, and many more)
• Cool-season crops (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce)
• Strawberries
• Sweet peas
• Bare-root fruit trees

Botanical Gifts from Ireland

The shamrock or clover has special significance to the Irish. St. Patrick used this three-leafed plant to demonstrate the mystery of the Christian Trinity, converting the King of Ireland to Christianity. Several clover varieties are grown for shamrocks, with white clover being the most common.

The Irish potato, though well-known, did not originate in Ireland. Native to the Andes region of South America, it was first brought to Spain by Spanish explorers, then imported into Ireland in 1543. It reached North America via England in 1719 and became a staple in diets across Ireland, England, and America.

The Irish yew (Taxus baccata ‘Fastigiata’) is an Irish original. In the 1760s, a wild yew from the mountains was planted at Florence Court in Northern Ireland. Its upright form became the source of all Irish yews grown worldwide today.

Hazelnut trees also come from Ireland. Hazelnuts (or filberts) are tasty and vitamin-rich. Modern cultivars like ‘Jefferson’ (sweet, buttery nuts) are pollinated by the variety ‘Eta’. Forked hazel twigs are still used by water diviners to locate underground water sources.

The strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) is native to Ireland, growing wild in western regions alongside oaks and yews. Its red-brown, shredding bark and clusters of white flowers produce round, red fruit resembling strawberries. The dwarf variety ‘Compacta’ grows 8–10 feet tall and makes a fine small specimen tree.

Irish moss, despite its name, originates from drier European climates. It is called Irish moss for its rich green foliage and thrives as a groundcover in sunny, moist areas.