Identifying Clover In Your Lawn
Red and white clover flower and foliage.
Clover is a fairly distinctive plant and its not difficult to spot if it appears in your lawn. The scientific name for this beauty is Trifolium. Tri means three and folium means leaves, therefore Trifolium means three leaves. And thats exactly what you see on clover plants. Each leaf has three lobes and Im led to believe that the distinctive shape was the origin of the clubs suit in a pack of playing cards.
The flowers are globe shaped with lots of little florets on each bloom. Theyre an absolute magnet for bees because they are full of nectar and have high protein pollen. Which, apparently, is brilliant food for bee larvae.
There is more than one type of clover. Trifolium repens has white flowers, Trifolium pratense has red or pink flowers, Trifolim arvense, the hares foot trefoil is a delightful little plant with fluffy flowers and Trifolium dubium, yellow suckling clover has yes, you guessed it, yellow blooms.
Most clovers are fairly low growing and tolerate mowing well. Agricultural variants however, can grow almost knee high and are quite vigorous.
Clover is a member of the legume plant family. Along with peas, beans and vetches. All of the plants in that family have a remarkable ability to enrich the soil they are growing in by fixing nitrogen from the air. That makes them very valuable and very useful plants to have as part of a crop rotation.
How To Remove Clover
Asked by: Gwen Harvey
Mix one cup of vinegar with a cup of water and one drop of dish soap. Shake it up and spray it onto any patches of clover. The vinegar will dry out the clover’s leaves, and the dish soap will make sure it sticks. You may need to spray over a series of weeks to kill off the clover completely.
Pros And Cons Of Clover
If youre like most people, and you have clover in your lawn, theres a good chance youll want to get rid of it, or at least stop its spread. But its important to know that there are some important benefits of clover. The main benefit is that clover acts as a natural fertilizer for your yard, adding nutrients like nitrogen to the soil. And since it doesnt grow very high, you can get away with mowing less often if you have a yard full of clover rather than grass.
Because it has a dense root structure, clover can actually help your yard weather a drought without drying out too badly, which ironically can make your lawn look greener, longer. And finally, beneficial insects like bees are attracted to clover flowers.
Despite this, clover is a weed, and does spread very quickly. If youre intent on having a beautiful lawn full of lush, green grass, youll definitely want to quell clover before it becomes a problem. Below, weve listed five methods to try if youre wondering how to get rid of clover.
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Why Some People Want Clover In Their Lawn
On a side note, it might surprise you to know that some people actually choose to add clover to their lawn. This is due to the fact that clover prevents weeds, fertilises your lawn by adding nitrogen, attracts bees, is soft to walk on, makes your lawn appear greener and shades the soil well. In fact, back in the 1950s and 60s, the optimum lawn mix was around 20% clover. For all these reasons, many people encourage the growth of clover in their lawn and even add in additional microclover to give more uniform clover coverage.
However, if you prefer the look of a smooth, velvety lawn without the distraction of clover flowers and wide leaves, youll need to thoroughly remove this prolific weed. Heres how to do it.
How To Get Rid Of White Clover: Controlling Clover In Your Lawn
Heres some good news: as weeds go, white clover isnt that bad. Its pretty easy to control, it gives you dainty white flowers, and attracts cute frolicking bunnies.
Seed companies actually used to include clover seed in their lawn mixes on purpose. Clover takes nitrogen out of the air and soil and makes it available to your lawn. But its still a weed. So, how do you get rid of white clover in your lawn? Lets take a look.
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For Cool Season Grasses:
1.Ortho Weed B Gone Plus Crabgrass Control This is a great product to have on hand because of how easy it is to use. It comes with a battery operated wand so theres no need for a tank sprayer. Its the go to post emergent in my 3 product lawn care plan. It kills clover and other broad leaf weeds as well as some undesirable grasses such as crabgrass.
2.Ortho Weed B Gone Chickweed, Clover, Oxalis Kiler This is another Weed B Gone product that has different active ingredients which are more specific in targeting clover. If clover is your main problem and you dont have many other broad leaf weeds then this product is a great choice. It is sold as a concentrate so will require mixing with a tank sprayer.
3.Tenacity Tenacity is a post emergent herbicide that works a little slower than other herbicides. Rather then poisoning the plant, it works by blocking photosynthesis. With Tenacity, it might take 7-10 days before you begin to see whitening of the plant. Eventually it will look like your treated weeds are bleached.
You may also see some grass blades turning white in the treated areas. Dont be alarmed. Tenacity is a selective herbicide and in my opinion does the best job of targeting the undesirable grasses such as Poa Annua while protecting the desirable grasses.
Also note that you might see some temporary whitening of the desirable grasses but they will ultimately green back up after a couple of mows.
Check out pic below from when I treated my clover using tenacity
How To Get Rid Of Clover In My Lawn
Clover is a common weed that invades lawns that lack maintenance or nutrients. Although it unharmful for lawns, some people prefer to get rid of it for the simple reason that its white flowers attract insects. Getting rid of the clover once it’s established can be difficult, but with the right tools and patience you’ll get it done. In this article, we share different methods to help you get rid of clover and control it.
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Fertilizer And Weed Control
Your lawn is a living, breathing thing. As is with every living organism, it needs to be fed. We provide the essential nutrients and biostimulants your lawn periodically needs to thrive and live a long healthy life. Our eco-friendly applications not only make your lawn healthy and beautiful on the surface, but also help your root system grow deep, stronger, and more complex.
The key to the success of your lawn depends on a custom approach to not only what we feed and nourish your lawn with, but also how we keep unwanted weeds from choking the life out of your lawn on the surface and crowding the root system. Every lawn has its own unique, pesky population of weeds. We inspect and evaluate your lawn on every single visit to make sure we are applying the most effective products to rid your lawn of its weeds and keep your lawn healthy!
Keeping Clover Out Of Your Lawn
Once you have got rid of clover in your lawn, you can tweak your lawn care regime so that your lawn becomes a no-go area for this particular invader.
Start with feeding your lawn. Clover prefers low fertility soil so regularly applying the right lawn feed for the time of year will make the area less attractive to this plant species.
Raise the height of the cut. Maintaining your lawn at around 4-8cm long will help the grass to thrive and outcompete unwanted plants.
Hold back on irrigation. Established lawns really dont need too much water. Many plant nutrients dissolve in water and are easily washed away. The more you water your lawn, the more chance there is of reducing soil fertility and creating the conditions that clover loves. Please dont let new lawns dry out though.
Dig out clover plants as soon as you see them, dont let them get a foot hold in your lawn.
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Treat Your Lawn To Help It Fight Off The Clover
When we use the word treat, we mean to spoil your lawn, as well as treat it in the literal sense.
- Apply organic fertiliser, to help feed your lawn, and help it grow stronger. Using organic fertiliser is also important in helping to increase nitrogen levels, which prevents clover growth. Other types of fertilisers dont always provide the same level of nitrogen as the organic stuff.
- Aerate your lawn, to help moisture and air reach the roots.
- Consider scarifying your grass, if you havent done so in a long time, especially if there is a thatch buildup.
- Keep the lawn a bit taller than you would regularly. Clover grows best when the grass is very short.
- When you do mow your lawn, mow it more regularly at a higher cutting height, rather than letting it grow tall, and chopping it down a lot. This helps to encourage healthier growth. Also, ensure to collect your clippings, to prevent spreading clover seeds.
Control In Vegetable Gardens
Cultural Control: It is best to treat weeds before tilling the soil for a vegetable garden. Tilling can break up and spread weed seed and perennial weed rhizomes throughout the garden plot. Some methods used to remove weeds in the vegetable garden include hand pulling, mulching, soil solarization, fall cover crops, and post-emergent herbicides.
Hand-pulling white clover is only practical for small garden plots. If hand pulling is chosen, be sure to work when the soil is moist so that the roots can be removed easily from the soil.
Organic mulch can be used in the garden to help suppress white clover development. Before laying the mulch, apply a layer of 6 to 8 newspaper sheets to act as a weed barrier. Wet the newspaper layer to prevent weed development by blocking light to the weeds underneath and preventing their growth. Best of all, the newspaper should decompose before next spring. To prevent low oxygen levels in the root zone, keep organic mulch levels at a maximum of 3-inches deep. If triclopyr, atrazine, metsulfuron, or 2,4-D containing products are applied to lawns for weed control, do not use the clippings for mulch in vegetable gardens or around ornamentals, as plant injury or death may result. For more information on mulching the vegetable garden, see HGIC 1253, ControllingWeeds by Cultivating and Mulching. For information on fall cover crops to suppress white clover, see HGIC 1252, Cover Crops.
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Why You Should Consider A Professional Lawn Care Company Like Lawn Doctor
If you want to be sure the clover problem in your yard will be taken care of while preserving the health and beauty of your lawn, the best choice you can make is to call in the professionals. A highly recommended, reputable lawn care company like Lawn Doctor understands the importance of keeping your yard in excellent condition via safe and effective ways. We use nontoxic weed control methods and lawn fertilization techniques to ensure a lush green lawn.
Our team of experts will analyze your yard and then customize a lawn treatment program that will meet the specific needs of your lawn, plants, and soil. A professionally maintained lawn is less likely to develop issues like pest infestations and diseases. Rather than a single visit and treatment, Lawn Doctor provides your lawn with a series of six to eight specialized treatments to fertilize your grass and control the weeds, including pre-emergent varieties.
By hiring a professional lawn care company, you will be saving yourself a lot of work and frustration. Trying to do everything for your lawn by yourself is time-consuming and costly, and theres always the chance that you will make a mistake and damage areas of your lawn that dont contain weeds. Lawn care professionals perform comprehensive treatments safely, quickly, and effectively.
Use A Natural Weed Killer
Perhaps the most popular natural weed killer, vinegar is a great option to try if youre wondering how to get rid of clover. Mix a solution of one part water, one part vinegar and a couple drops of dish soap, add it to a spray bottle, then douse the clover. It may take a few weeks of frequent applications, but this natural blend wont harm grass or other plants, and is safe for use around kids and pets, too.
Once the solution has done its job, youll want to put grass seed down in any empty spots where there used to be clover in your lawn.
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How To Get Rid Of White Clovers Without Destroying The Lawn
You have carefully chosen the lawn grass, worked the soil, sprouted the seeds, watered and mowed them daily. However, just about when you have your lawn looking like golf-course grass, some nasty white clovers start having a feast on your lawn. Now you wonder whether to douse your whole lawn in chemicals to safeguard the grass from the white clovers.
Fortunate enough, you dont have to risk your whole lawn when dealing with a white clover weed problem. Keep reading and find out the surefire solutions on how to get rid of white clovers without destroying the lawn.
How To Get Rid Of Clover In A Lawn
Before you get rid of clover in a lawn, consider whether you actually need to. The blooms of clover might, after all, be welcome as part of your wildlife garden ideas, since they are amongst the flowers that attract bees.
Most gardeners have a love-hate relationship with clovers as they can be invasive in lawns, and survive close mowing, but they also provide important nectar for pollinators such as bees, says Ruth Hayes, gardening editor, Amateur Gardening.
However, if making a lawn green and thick is the goal, heres how to get rid of clover in a lawn.
Your two main routes for combating clover are cultural and chemical, explains Ruth Hayes. By cultural I mean digging up clumps of the weed and feeding the surrounding grass so it grows strongly and fills up any bare patches in grass where clover might take hold. However, avoid fertilizing a lawn during hot and dry spells as it will scorch the grass and do more damage than good.
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How To Prevent The Spread Of Clover
When a Minnesota lawn is healthy, lush and robust, weeds like clover are less likely to infest because they get suffocated by healthy grass. Before clover can enter your lawn, here are some preventative steps you can take to keep your lawn clover-free.
- Keep your lawn well-fed. The best way to prevent the spread of clover is to stop it before it starts. Using a fertilizer four times per year or hiring someone to manage your lawn can help it to stay thick and healthy.
- Mow high. Clover is low-growing, so mowing high and keeping your grass long can prevent sunlight from reaching the soil and allowing weeds to thrive.
- Use a preventative herbicide. Since clover is a cool-season weed, it usually begins growing in cool weather. To prevent it from growing in the spring, use a preventative herbicide before winter comes that stops the spread of seeds. Green Stuff Lawn uses a pre-emergent herbicide.
Kill Clover In Grass With Plastic
A surefire way to kill clover is to deprive it of what it needs to thrive, which are oxygen and sunlight. Use a garbage bag or other type of plastic sheeting to cover the clover patch. Secure the sheeting down with stakes or heavy objects to prevent it from blowing away.
For best results and to increase your chances of not killing the surrounding grass, only use this method on more extensive patches of clover. Within a few weeks, the plastic sheeting will kill off the clover and any future seeds.
This is also a great way to get rid of crabgrass patches in the lawn or other weeds that occur in a specific area. It also requires very little effort. If you have the time, smothering is an ideal solution for weeds.
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How To Get Rid Of Clover In Lawns
Clover is great in lawns, but if its not for you, thats OK too. So, what is the best way to remove it?
My first choice for getting rid of unwanted plants in the lawn is to dig them out. Theres no chemicals, no damage to the environment and, provided there are only a few of them, its quick. Remove the clover and make a quick repair with some topsoil mixed with grass seed. Job done.
If your lawn is heavily infested with clover you might want to try a selective herbicide. Clover however, hasnt become the successful plant that it is, by succumbing to weedkillers. Its quite resistant to some herbicides, so do your homework carefully before buying any sprays or treatments. Im not going to mention any brands simply because product availability changes fast and you might be reading this blog in the future. However, a good place to ask questions is the .
A really good, environmentally friendly way to get rid of any weed from your lawn is to cover the weed with something light-proof and literally, keep it in the dark until it dies. So a piece of black plastic, thick cardboard or wood, weighted down and left for a couple of weeks should sort it. Its not a visually attractive solutions and it will kill any grass that is covered up but its a solution just the same.
A regular lawn feeding regime will help to keep clover at bay
