Clover Lawn - Why you want one & what not to do! (2024)

FAQs

Clover Lawn - Why you want one & what not to do!? ›

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.

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.

“Clover lawns are known to be beneficial for soil health as they naturally fix nitrogen, reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers,” Farley says. “It also requires less water than traditional lawns and is more resistant to drought, making it a great choice for areas prone to a lack of water.”

Use little to no nitrogen fertilizer.

Clover fixes its own nitrogen, so you don't need to fertilize your clover lawn regularly. However, if you notice competing grasses starting to overtake your lawn, you can use a low-nitrogen fertilizer to give your clover the phosphorus and potassium it needs to become hardier.

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.

Clover, which is more heat and drought tolerant than grass, is an alternative that could still allow for pleasant lawns, while steering people away from wasting water and resources to keep their grass lush. “One of the great things about clover is that it doesn't mind the heat.

Clover is a safe food for dogs and has many nutritious benefits. The most important thing about Clover is its high in protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. That makes Clover one of the best sources of nutrition available to your dog!

There are two main groups of clover: perennial and annual. Perennial clover is the more popular option since annual clover dies out more quickly. With perennial clover, you will need to reseed every two to three years. Annual clover will need to be reseeded every year.

As mentioned earlier, you may want to mix the clover seed with lime or low nitrogen fertilizer to give you more substance to work with. 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.

Though clover can tolerate moderate amounts of foot traffic, it's not as resilient as more traditional turfgrasses. Mixing clover with turfgrass can fix this issue. You have a densely shaded lawn. Clover can handle partial shade, but most varieties aren't cut out for heavy shade.

What is the best fertilizer for clover? ›

Fertilize Your Clover

It's best to fertilize with what your soil test results recommend. Most often the best fertilizer for clover will recommend around 300 lbs of 0-20-20 per acre annually. Many choose to fertilize at planting time and then during the spring annually thereafter.

Among the many different types of clover, the two mainly used for lawns are white clover and microclover. White clover (Trifolium repens) or Dutch clover: The most popular clover seed for lawns; it has round, white, and fragrant flowers.

This weed is best controlled by herbicides containing dicamba, clopyralid, fluroxypyr, and quinclorac. Products containing combinations of these active ingredients usually provide very good control of white clover. Regrowth of foliage sometimes occurs following spring herbicide applications.

With a yard full of clover, you may find it difficult to keep it out of unwanted areas like sidewalks, driveways and gardens. Clover is not a good idea for those with bee allergies: If anyone in your home has a serious allergy to bees, it's prudent to keep clover out of your yard.

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!

If you're worried about pests becoming a problem due to increased clover, Abbey says it's no problem at all. Ticks do not prefer low cut lawns, regardless of clover or not, as it's too hot and dry.

"Like dandelions, clover can take over a lawn quickly if left unchecked. Homeowners often get annoyed by the patchy appearance clover gives a lawn because it has a different texture, color and growth rate from turfgrasses."

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.

Pet urine can leave yellow spots of microblooms across your grass lawn, leaving it discolored and uneven, but clover won't falter. Clover lawns are generally okay to have if you have a dog, however, if eaten in large enough quantities, clover can be toxic to dogs and cause skin irritation, upset stomach, and vomiting.