How To Find Four-Leafed Clovers

As of writing this article, I have found over 400 four-leafed clovers...this year. 2024 was a record-breaking year for me in terms of finds. I was hoping to break 200 this year, but this year I shattered it. And until the snow falls and stays, I can keep looking and finding. With this record-breaking year, I estimate I have found over 1000 four-leafed (And five, six, and even three seven-leafed) clovers in my lifetime. There are those who chalk it up to luck, but I know, it's science and skill. And I can teach you how to find them too.

Step One: You have to look.

"I have never found a four leafed clover." I hear it again and again. Then I ask, "Have you ever looked for one?" Or "When was the last time you looked for one?" You can not find what you don't look for. You can not eat what you do not put on your plate. The first step in finding a four-leafed clover, is looking.

Step Two: Be prepared.

When I find four-leafed clovers, I preserve them, and as soon as you pluck them, I need to start that process. I was taught to place plants and leaves between paper and press under weight of heavy books. When I go clover hunting, I usually bring a small notebook with a binder clip to keep it closed after. When I happen to come across four-leafed clovers when I am not expecting to find them, I put them in a piece of paper, like a receipt, inside my wallet. After I get home, in either situation, I put them in my long term pressing spot until they can be preserved (Step Six).

Step Three: The Science of It

Did you know four-leafed clovers are mutants? Clovers are supposed to have three leaves, obviously, but then there are four-plus leafed clovers. I have read various statistics that they appear one in every 3000, or 5000, or 10,000, depending on the source material. In the grand scheme of things, that's not a rare mutation, it's quite common, statistically. These mutations tend to grow together, which is why I tend to find so many clovers grouped together. When you find one, chances are, you're going to find more than one in the same area.

Step Four: The Hunt

I am always looking. Those who know me and are around me when there are clovers present, will see my eyes scanning the ground. This is me looking, and not even in an active way. When I am actively looking, I am squatting down and will run my fingers through patches. I don't look for long in any given area. If the mutations aren't there, they're not there. Move on. You can't make them appear.

Step Five: What mutations to look for.

This is where you will find your success. When you find your patch of clover, look for ones with the white triangles in them. That's white clover. In my experience, these ones are most-likely to create four-leafed clovers. Among them, look for leaves that look off. These leaves could be ones that look larger or smaller among their counter-parts on the same stems. They might be also be folded, cut, or anything otherwise different than the masses. Finally, look for squares. Clovers make triangles. A four-leafed clover will make a square. Once you see the squares, you can not not see squares among them. The four-leafed clovers will jump out at you.

Once you find a patch that has four-leafed clovers, check it when you can and perhaps find more in the future.

Step Six: Preservation

Once the clovers are pressed and dried out, they are usually ok to save as is, however, the sate they are in is quite fragile. I have seen them preserved in glass, resin, laminated sheets, and more. The way I preserve them is in clear packing tape. It's inexpensive, creates a seal, and makes them business-card sized. Because...

Step Seven: Now what?

Now that I've collected hundreds of four-leafed clovers, they serve nearly no purpose in my own hands besides having a collection. The greatest joy of finding them is then giving them away. I have given them away and sent them all over the country, and possibly internationally. For the last three years I have put dates and numbers on my clovers for the annual find. They are my calling card, my trinket, my signature item.

Finally, four-leafed clovers need to be regularly imbued with more luck. They are a plant, they have to be given the fuel to live.

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Now you have the tools to find four-leafed clovers. Happy clover hunting!

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