Break the labor- and chemical-dependent perfect lawn habit with a beautiful, environmentally friendly lawn that includes clover.
I give up. Even though I use a lawn service to apply herbicides and synthetic chemicals, my back lawn looks awful–bare spots and invasive weeds. So I’m giving up on dumping poisons on my yard and I’m going to work with Mother Nature instead of against her. I’m planting clover and gradually incorporating it into my existing turfgrass lawn.
Prior to World War II, most lawns were clover or primarily clover. Especially when interplanted with grass, which is nitrogen-hungry, it’s an excellent lawn plant. Clover is a legume, which pulls nitrogen from the air and fixes it into the soil, feeding the grass.
Though you can grow a single-species clover lawn, most experts recommend you mix clover with traditional grass or with a variety of different clover species for an even, green lawn. Overseeding your existing lawn with clover will retain your turfgrass look while giving you the benefits of clover. (This is the tack I plan on taking.)
Reasons to Add Clover to Your Lawn
- It needs less water than grass alone. Turfgrass needs 1 to 1 1/2 inches of water a week. In Iowa, most clover does well with little to no additional watering, depending on the site and weather conditions.
- It’s also heat tolerant. Think about those lawns you’ve seen where the grass is burning up but the clover is still looking good. Only in fairly severe drought and heat will it start to show signs of stress.
- Clover does well in wet years, too. Clover enjoys moisture, as long as it has some drainage, and doesn’t develop fungal diseases like grass does when it’s watered at the wrong time or is too wet for too long.
- Clover needs little to mowing. You can mow it for a more tidy appearance, but especially if you plant a micro- or low-growing type, you might not want to. Most clover-lawn owners find mowing a few times during the growing season is plenty. Others let it grow to its full height—usually around 4-8 inches tall—for a lovely, meadow-like appearance. Bonus: The more you let if flower, the more butterflies, bees, and other pollinators love it.
- It’s green for a long time. It greens up early in the spring and stays green and attractive into the fall. Not all grasses do that.
- You don’t need chemicals. Turfgrass needs at least a couple applications of a nitrogen-rich fertilizer a year to stay strong and green. Clover isn’t fussy and does well without any additional fertilizer.
No Herbicides
And unlike grass, it can also hold its own with less desirable weeds, so you don’t need broadleaf herbicides. (In fact, broadleaf herbicides will kill it.) Further, since clover doesn’t rely on the perfectly uniform, flawless look of a traditional lawn, it’s okay if some “weeds” are hanging out with it as well.
If undesirable weeds get out of hand, usually they can be controlled with a mowing, hand-digging, or in extreme cases, a spot application an herbicide. A concentrated vinegar, made for weed control, is an organic option.
• It’s fairly shade tolerant. Even grasses that are sold as shade-tolerant still need at least 4 hours of direct sun a day. Clover is more adaptive and will do well in light shade. However, it is not a good choice for medium to deep shade.
Three Popular Clovers for the Midwest
White clover (Trifolium repens) is the best-known clover in the U.S. It grows 4-8 inches tall and is rapid spreader with attractive white flowers in late spring. This has cropped up in my Ames garden all by itself.
Red clover (Trifolium pratense) has pretty reddish-purple flowers and grows 6 to 24 inches tall.
Microclover (Trifolium repens var. ‘Pirouette’ and ‘Pipolina’) is relatively new with smaller leaves and fewer flowers growing just 4-5 inches tall.
Clover is not a perfect substitute for grass. It doesn’t do well with a lot of foot traffic and needs re- or over-seeding every two to three years. On the other hand, I have reseeded or overseeded my grass once or twice a year with pathetic results.
I’m excited to try something new that will make my lawn look better, take less work, and help the environment to boot.
— Veronica Lorson Fowler
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