Why Do You Have So Much Clover In Your Lawn
You are probably wondering the same question, right?
Before finding the answer to this, you need to make sure that what you see is actually white clover, not a different plant with a similar three-leaf patterns such as black medic.
The two clear hints of clover are white flowers as well as bees and butterflies. If you see both signs, you definitely have clover in your yard.
Here are three reasons why you have clover in your lawn.
What Do Clovers In Our Lawns Indicate
The presence of Clover in lawns can be an indicator of low Nitrogen levels in the soil.
Clover requires soil with LOW Nitrogen levels because this plant can pull its Nitrogen requirement from the air.
Lawns love Nitrogen in the soil, and thats why its so important to feed our lawns with Nitrogen in the form of Organic Lawn Fertilisers, Standard Lawn Fertilisers, or by leaving the clippings on the lawn after mowing.
As soon as lawn soils begin to lack Nitrogen the lawn will become in poor health. And a lawn in poor health will be highly prone to other weeds, pests and diseases, and will not have the necessary strength to fight off these infestations naturally by itself.
When we remember the important basic principle of prevention being better than the cure in Organic Lawn Care, we see the importance of keeping our lawns in optimum health so they dont suffer problems which may later require chemical treatments. So, lets get our lawn back to good health, and keep it there.
Tips For Preventing Clover
Fertilize your lawn The easiest way to prevent clover is to maintain a dense, well-fertilized lawn. As discussed above, clover will struggle in nitrogen rich soils, but most desirable grasses will thrive in them. How much nitrogen should be applied will depend on the type of grass planted in the lawn, some grasses prefer more nitrogen than others. When it comes to fertilizer, the recommended maximums should not be exceeded too much of a good thing can indeed be very bad in this context.
Mow tall The white clover found in lawns rarely exceeds three inches in height and can be easily shaded out by taller grasses. While different grasses should be mowed at different heights ranging from roughly 1 inch for bermuda to up to 4 inches for St. Augustine and tall fescue it is always best to mow at the higher end of any recommended range.
You May Like: Wild Violet Herbicide Control
Feed Your Lawn Regularly To Control Clover
Controlling any weed is best done by stopping the problem before it starts. Nobody wants to regularly battle weeds in their lawn, and if you are, that is a sure sign of a problem with the way you are caring for your lawn.
Clover thrives in yards that are underfed as the weed makes its fertilizer, as it pulls nitrogen from the air, not the ground. Proper lawn care requires feeding it with the appropriate fertilizer four times a year. These fertilizers provide your lawn with all of the nutrients necessary to grow strong and thick.
You can use commercial or organic fertilizers when fertilizing your lawn, as both produce excellent results. Always follow watering instructions included on each bag of fertilizer for a healthy and happy yard. The thicker your lawn the better, as lush greens crowd out weeds like clover.
After killing clover, if you have large patches of dirt, lay down some grass seeds and cover with a thin layer of mulch. Water the seed regularly to promote new growth. Follow the instructions on the package for fertilizing and mowing.
Can Clover Replace Turf
Throughout the article, I have introduced you to the clover properties and numerous ways to get rid of it. But, heres something completely different.
Did you know that you can actually create a clover lawn?
Inquiries on clover lawns are growing in popularity primarily because of the pollinator crisis. Both wild and domesticated bees are experiencing massive losses globally, partially due to the lack of food.
In that context, our turf lawns lack any flowers they can collect nectar from. To insect pollinators, our lush turf is just one big green desert.
Last but not least, we depend on pollinators for our survival they pollinate the crops we turn into food.
Because of that, some people have changed their lawn maintenance practices and turned to more natural, old-school lawn mixes that include low-growing flowering species.
Pollinators are not the sole reason, though. Some people have studied the properties of clover and decided that the fact that it doesnt require fertilization, doesnt need a lot of mowing and that it easily outcompetes other weeds will save them a lot of money and time.
Clover lawns consist of low-growing species of clover such as the White clover or Micro Clover . Micro clover doesnt flower much, so its a way to surpass bees if they present a hazard for you.
A clover lawn has some disadvantages too we have covered those in the Is it bad to have clover in your lawn section.
Don’t Miss: Average Cost For Trugreen Lawn Care
What Causes The Growth Of Clover In Lawns
There are multiple possible reasons for the unwanted sprouting and growth of clover in lawns and other outdoor areas. The most common ones include problems with the soil, such as:
- An unsuitable pH level of the soil. The best pH for soil is 6.0 to 7.0. If your soil is too acidic, this can promote the growth of clover and weeds and can slow down the growth of the grass. You can test the pH levels of the soil, and if needed, correct it to the right levels with the use of lime or other soil amendments.
- Low nitrogen levels. Clover will thrive better in soil that has a low nitrogen level because it can obtain the required nitrogen from the air. At the same time, the grass will grow slower in nitrogen-poor soil as well. Low nitrogen levels of the soil often occur after the use of fast-acting fertilizers, which lower the quality of the soil while promoting faster growth of the grass. By using organic fertilizer such as cow manure, guano, cornmeal gluten, or others, you can help improve the quality of the soil and increase its nitrogen levels.
- Soil is compacted. Compacted soil deprives the grass of getting the essential nutrients from the air and water and, at the same time, can help promote the growth of clover and weeds. You can easily correct this problem by breaking the soil up with a spike aerator.
The Identification Of Clover
In the future, you may see some small, round, white, or pink flowers on your lawn. That attracts bees to buzzing around the space.
Hence, these things indicate the clovers existence. The most common variety of clover is the white one. We have an article that discussed the type of clover that can help you identify them.
You May Like: Is Peat Moss Good For Grass
Vinegar & Water Solution
The first common method is to make a DIY killer spray that is non-toxic and effective against clover, mixing 1 cup of water, 1 cup of vinegar, and a teaspoon of dish detergent together in a spray bottle.
The soap causes the mixture to stick to the leaves, and the vinegar burns the leaves, eventually causing them to dry out and die.
Spray the vinegar water on patches of clover, carefully, avoiding the grass as much as possible.
Repeat spraying this natural weed control remedy twice a week until the clover has died.
Get Rid Of Clover In Lawn With Chemicals
In some cases, drastic measures need to be taken. Clover is hardy, fast-growing, and loves to sneak in among your grass. If you want to kill clover without killing grass you may consider using a clover herbicide. The gloves are off. All options are on the table. Its time to choose the best weed killer for clover.
What to look for in a Chemical Herbicide for Clover
Clover are broadleaf plants, which differ greatly from grasses. The best weed killer for clover is one formulated for broadleaf weed control. Commercial weed killers for broadleaf control contain chemicals such as animocyclopyrachlor, fluroxypyr, quinclorac, and triclopyr which target broadleaf plant and root systems, leaving grass unharmed. 2,4-D is another great option for killing clover. When looking for a clover weed killer, be sure to choose a herbicide with one or more of these chemicals if you want to rid your lawn of clover without harming grass.
There are also Weed and Feed combination herbicides and fertilizers that are very strong options for clover control. These products combine broadleaf-specific weed control with slow-release, high-nitrogen fertilizer. Be sure to choose one with at least an 8-week release cycle. By using a combination herbicide/fertilizer you will kill any existing clover in your yard and increase your soil health, which will prevent clover from returning.
Both herbicides and Weed and Feed products are available at most hardware and garden stores.
Don’t Miss: Remove Clover From Grass
Depriving Clover Of Oxygen
Another natural way to get rid of clover is to deprive it of oxygen and sunlight and not allowing it to grow. To do this, place a plastic sheet or garbage bag over the clover patch, securing the corners so it wont blow away. This should kill the weeds in a couple of weeks, but dont use this method long-term or the surrounding grass could be damaged as well. This is a good method for larger patches of clover.
This method is also helpful to get rid of other types of weeds like crabgrass that may be on your lawn. Its effective if you have the time to put into it.
Dish Soap And Vinegar Trick
Vinegar has dozens of uses around the house. If you mix it with dish soap, it becomes an effective herbicide. The acetic acid in the vinegar draws moisture from the clover, killing it while the soap acts as a bonding agent to prevent the vinegar from running off.
Simply add 1 tablespoon of dish soap to a gallon of white vinegar and put it in a spray bottle. If you want to increase its effectiveness, you can also add a cup of salt to the mix.
A few words of caution, though. First, household vinegar is only about 5% acetic acid, which means it may take a few applications to kill the clover. Second, this is a nonselective natural herbicide, so avoid getting too much on your grass, or you may end up killing your turf too.
Recommended Reading: Craftsman 6.5 Horsepower Lawn Mower Oil
How Professional Weed Control Can Help
Using a professional lawn care service provides homeowners with trained specialists who have gardening expertise and reliable equipment to perform any lawn care service quickly and affordably.
Homeowners, especially those who dont have time or the physical capacity to weed their lawns each week, can receive high-quality lawn care treatments from companies like TruGreen that help lawns thrive.
How Do You Kill Chickweed Without Killing Grass
How to get rid of clover in grass naturally. Use a spade to loosen the soil gently. If there are just a few clover plants in your lawn, scotts® spot weed control for lawns will get the job done for most grass types Its the most common way to get rid of clover.
it killed most of the clover and dandelion within two weeks and the lawn is already starting to get that deep, dark green hue, says an amazon reviewer. For small patches, you can remove the clover manually. Cover the clover with plastic sheeting like a garbage bag, and secure the corners.
The best time to get rid of clover is when it first begins to bloom. The vinegar damaged the growth of clover roots that why the clover growth stops and he eliminates it from the yard. The first step in getting rid of clover is proper lawn care.
It can kill clover in your lawn within a few weeks. If the clover problem seems to be in a form of small patches, just go with the easiest way. To kill chickweed in your lawn without killing grass, use a selective broadleaf weed killer or weed and feed product that includes a broadleaf weed killer.
It will, however, kill your surrounding grass at the same time as you eliminate clover. However, if all of these methods fail, you can resort to using commercial herbicides for broadleaf weeds. If you have a larger clover problem, or you want to feed your lawn and kill clover at the same time, try scotts.
SKYsource
Pin on HEALTH ORAL & DENTAL CARE
- Tags
Don’t Miss: Peat Moss Vs Mulch
How To Get Rid Of Clover In Your Yard 2021
How To Get Rid Of Clover In Your Yard. After getting rid of the clover weed, the next thing to do is to give prevention. Alternately, you can use a hand fork by inserting the prongs below the roots, and then forcing the plant out of the soil.
Applied to a lawn, corn gluten meal dries out seedlings, preventing the growth of clover and other plants. As with all weed removal, the best results come from removing red clover early, while its.
Reason : Clover Prevents Weeds
We talk about mowing your lawn high to help prevent weeds. Mowing high helps prevent weeds because the taller the grass, the more it shades the surface of the soil and makes it difficult for weeds to establish. Clover, with its umbrella-like leaves, shades the soil better than blades of grass do, so it, creating a less optimal environment for weeds. If you have Clover in your lawn, you can even mow at a more normal mowing height . So, if you like mowing your lawn short, Clover can help you avoid having a million other weeds. See how the grass in the playing field of Microclover below has far fewer dandelions than the perimeter grass without Clover?
You May Like: How To Keep Lawn Green In Summer
Prevent Oxygen And Sunlight
Clovers tend to grow and thrive in the presence of oxygen and sunlight. A natural solution to this is to prevent them from receiving this kind of oxygen and sunlight.
You can take a plastic sheet of any kind and use it to completely cover up the spots of clover in your lawn. It would be better if you do this for larger spots so that you do not end up removing any grass or plants too.
Make sure you place an object or weight onto the sheet to prevent it from opening up or flying off. Within a few weeks, this will remove the clovers from their respective spots.
Limit The Airflow And The Sunlight In The Area
Clover, like all plants, needs air and sunlight to grow, so if you deprive it of these two essential elements, the plant will soon die off on its own.
This can be achieved by covering the patch of clover with a garbage bag or other plastic sheeting and use some weights like stones on the edges to keep it in place.
This should eliminate the clover in a matter of weeks. But keep in mind that any other plants such as grass under the plastic will be killed as well.
Read Also: How To Remove Clover From Lawn
What Are Clovers
Clovers are herbaceous, perennial weeds with over 300 species. These smaller plants usually grow leaves in threes and produce small fluffy blooms, which are usually white with a slightly browned centre.
Our most common connection to clovers is, of course, the lucky four-leaf clover. However, despite the association with good fortune these plants have a tendency to creep and grow at an incredibly rapid rate, eventually damaging your beautiful green lawn.
What is most important is that once youve identified clovers invading, you know how to get rid of clover in lawn without chemicals.
Is Clover A Weed
While it isnt harmful to your lawn, clover is generally considered to be a weed. It has earned this status due to the fact that its typically an unwanted wild plant that will grow in competition with intentionally cultivated plants, these most often being the grass plants in a lawn. Some people do grow clover intentionally, whether it be for aesthetic reasons or if the soil is too poor to grow grass. However, for the most part, it will grow in lawns where it isnt desired, and therefore its considered by most to be a weed.
Read Also: How To Get Rid Of Brown Spots In My Lawn
Is Clover A Weed Or Grass
Clover is not closely related to the grass in your yard. It is actually part of the legume family, which means its closest relatives are peas and alfalfa. This is good news because certain chemical control methods that target clover will leave grass unharmed.
Clover is classified as a broadleaf weed, a category that includes other common weeds such as dandelions, poison ivy, and brambles. This is important because herbicides and methods for broadleaf weed control are effective ways to kill clover.
How To Get Rid Of Clover And Keep Your Lawn Pristine
You have a beautiful lawn, but youve noticed lately that that magnificent green expanse is interrupted by clumps of sprouting clover. You tried mowing, but the small, white-flowered weeds keep coming backand bringing bees with them.
Clover, or trefoil, is one of the most common weeds found on poorly maintained and undernourished lawns.
Clover is a tough weed to control because of its small size and numerous leaves that make it harder to hit with granular weed killers, says Phil Dwyer, turf grass scientist for Scotts Miracle-Gro.
Tired of fighting this weed? Here are some ways to get rid of it for good, so your lawn can look picture-perfect.
You May Like: When Does Lawn Mowing Simulator Come Out
