How to Grow White Clover (Trifolium Repens) (2024)

FAQs

How to Grow White Clover (Trifolium Repens)? ›

Rather than haphazardly throwing the seeds on the ground, spreading them evenly across the desired area is the better option. Sow the seed at our recommended rate of 50g per m2 using a seed spreader or your hand, and try to get even coverage across the area.

Rather than haphazardly throwing the seeds on the ground, spreading them evenly across the desired area is the better option. Sow the seed at our recommended rate of 50g per m2 using a seed spreader or your hand, and try to get even coverage across the area.

White clover thrives best in a cool, moist climate in soils with ample lime, phosphate, and potash. In general, white clover is best adapted to clay and silt soils in humid and irrigated areas. It grows successfully on sandy soils with a high water table or irrigated droughty soils when adequately fertilized.

Easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Prefers moist soils in light shade, but tolerates full sun and dryish soils.

White clover (Trifolium repens L.) is a short-lived perennial that can reseed under favorable conditions, rapidly grow, and spread via stolons. It grows best during cool, moist weather on well-drained, fertile soils with a pH between 6 and 7 (Table 1).

Clover seed planted deeper then 1/4 inch in the soil may not emerge; therefore, ensure the clover seed is spread on the surface or just lightly raked in to the soil.

Clover is resilient, and its strength actually smothers other weeds. If your mower is tired of picking up those pesky, hard-to-kill weeds, clover may be the way to go. Growing clover does not allow room for typical lawn weeds to thrive, meaning the lawns you mow could be weed-free and beautiful!

Unlike a conventional turfgrass lawn, a clover lawn only needs to be mowed twice a year, as it grows 2 to 8 inches tall. Most people mow it in midsummer after the clover has bloomed and dropped its seeds and again four to six weeks before the first fall frost. Any additional mowing is optional.

Caring for your clover lawn is easy and will require minimal effort once established. In regions with regular precipitation throughout the year, watering is rarely needed. Watering just once or twice a week is usually more than enough in dry summer regions. Unlike grass lawns, clover lawns never need fertilizer.

White clovers are fairly tolerant of nematodes and leaf diseases, but are susceptible to root and stolon rots. Leading insect pests are the potato leafhopper (Empoasca fabae), meadow spittlebug (Philaenis spumarius), clover leaf weevil (Hypera punctata), alfalfa weevil (Hypera postica) and Lygus bug (Lygus spp.).

What kills Trifolium repens? ›

For landscape professionals, herbicide formulations that contain isoxaben are effective for controlling annual clovers and can be used around many woody shrubs and trees. Most established annual flowers tolerate this herbicide.

Put it in a spot with slightly acidic soil and good drainage, throw in a bit of shade, and do not let the soil dry out completely. This basic care should be enough for the plant to thrive. But, because Trifolium repens does spread aggressively, it may move into areas of your yard where you do not want it.

MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS. IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : White clover is an excellent forage plant for livestock and wildlife [15,20]. The leaves and flowers are grazed by grizzly bear, moose, mule, white-tailed deer, and blue grouse [2,18,21,26].

Some potential downsides of a clover lawn include its tendency to attract bees (which may be an issue for those with allergies or concerns about pets and children), its invasive growth pattern, and its potentially uneven appearance compared to a traditional grass lawn.

3. Clovers Reduce Weeds. It turns out clover does some of the “weeding” for you, too. As a dense ground cover plant, clovers — though they are also broad-leaved — are exceptional at crowding out other broadleaf plants such as dandelions, violets, and other plants that commonly populate lawns.

The best time to plant clover lawn is usually during early spring. However, you'll get the best result if the temperatures are between 60°F to 85°F. Depending on where you live, this might mean that planting clover seed in the late summer or early fall could work better for you.

Next, grab a handful of clover seeds and lightly sprinkle them across the prepared lawn. A hand-powered seed spreader will work too. There's no need to apply clover seeds heavily as they'll grow fast and quickly fill in the gaps. Finally, sprinkle a little topsoil over the seeds.

While the grass seed should germinate if you just throw it on the surface, you should know that there are a few negative effects of planting the seeds in this way. It could harm the speed and success of germination and may leave you with patchy and uneven coverage.

The tiny clover and chicory seeds make easy seed-to-soil contact. For late summer/fall planting (north or south) there are numerous choices – products with cereal grains like Outfitter's Blend, or brassica blends like Maximum, Deer Radish or Winter Bulbs & Sugar Beets should produce good stands in a no-till situation.

Lightly rake the seeds into the soil to ensure good contact without burying them deeply. Water the area thoroughly and keep moist until germination. As the clover seedlings emerge, they will begin to establish, spread, and become thicker and denser over time.