Wrapping Up Our How To Get Rid Of Clover Guide
So, now you know how to get rid of clover in lawn naturally, and not so naturally should you choose so. Keep in mind that clovers do have certain gardening benefits, so unless theyre causing a major issue, you can leave them to grow in your garden.
Always ensure you keep up with regular garden practices like fertilizing, mowing and watering to ensure you have strong, healthy grass that wont be easily taken over by clovers.
Follow these tips on how to get rid of clovers, and youll have the luscious, luxurious grass youre looking for.
Use Organic Weed Killer
Organic weed killer might sound too good to be true when it comes to controlling lawn weeds, but a new one was recently introduced for clover control. Adios, an organic weed killer, will weaken and kill the clover in your lawn without harming any of your grass.
To use, spray Adios directly on the clover. As the clover weakens and dies, the grass will take over where the clover once was. Make sure to water your lawn correctly. If you apply Adios to a stressed lawn from lack of water or extreme heat, there is a higher risk the product will kill your grass as well as the clover.
Ideally, water your yard twice a week. Deep watering, where the grass receives one inch of water, is recommended. The perfect time to apply Adios is the day after a deep watering.
Pick The Right Herbicide
Many types of herbicides can be used effectively to kill clover, but without the right product, this weeds aggressive growth habit means that it will likely recover and regrow quickly. The type of herbicide you should use depends on what type of grass you have:
For cool-season grasses, the best type of herbicide to kill clover is triclopyr. Triclopyr can either be purchased on its own or as part of a blend of other herbicides. While the blended products are capable of tackling more weeds, it isnt recommended to use them on lawns with exposed roots. Most herbicide blends contain an ingredient called Dicamba that can cause severe damage to trees if taken up by their roots.
For warm-season grasses, you should never apply triclopyr as you would on cool-season grasses, as this type of herbicide is not suitable. Instead, use a herbicide that has been specially formulated for southern or warm-season grasses.
There are some granular herbicides on the market, which are usually sold in combination with fertilizer as a weed and feed product. However, these products are notoriously unreliable at providing effective weed control in the same way that a liquid herbicide does.
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How To Get Rid Of Clover In Grass
1. Maintain a well-fed lawn
The best way to get rid of clover in grass is to put an end to them even before they grow. One way is to feed your lawn, as a conservative estimate, four times every year. This is because clover plants thrive in the less fertilized grass and regular feeding will provide the grass plants with the nutrients they need to grow thick and strong. With nitrogen rich, organic fertilizer, thick grass will then be able to force out broadleaf weeds, including clover.
2. Raise mowing height
While mowing your lawn, you might want to lower the lawn mower height to crop the white blooms, it would actually make more sense to elevate it. Weeds like clover grow low and their roots are often shallow. By raising your mower height, you allow the grass on the lawn to grow slightly taller. This effectively cuts off sunlight and prevents the undesirable clover growth in your lawn.
3. Pull clover manually
If you catch sight of clover in the vicinity of your lawn before they have grown into flowers and have started to spread, you can take the manual approach and remove patches of clover and clover seeds from small areas freehand. Clover extends through roots and crawling stems that will root through the lawn, so make sure you pull it as soon as possible.
Just remember to loosen the soil to separate any remaining roots that you may otherwise miss.
4. Use a Weed Killer
How To Recognise The Type Of Clover In Your Lawn
There are over two hundred varieties of clover, with a handful commonly found in the UK. The most recognisable characteristic is the trifoliate leaves that means there are three opposing leaves per stem although, records confirm that in rare cases, clover has been found with up to 56 leaves growing from one stem!
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Clover Control: How To Get Rid Of Clover
Clover is one of the most recognizable broadleaf weeds on lawns and turf. Clover is a perennial weed that grows low to the ground and is very persistent where established.
Even though it is a weed, clover is actually a helpful addition to your lawn as it contains certain characteristics that keep your lawn healthy. If you’re keeping a nice uniform lawn, you may hate the sight of it and want it gone.
Clover weed prefers nutrient-rich, moist soils. Dry and shady sites are not ideal conditions for growth. The notable characteristic of clover are its three-leaves which are rounded. There are many different species of clover and they can produce heads or dense spikes of small red, purple, white, or yellow flowers.
If you have Clover on your lawn that you want to get rid of, our DIY guide can help. The guide below has been put together by lawn care experts and will show you what the best clover killers are to use to properly conduct clover treatment so this plant no longer dominates your yard.
Smother The Entire Lawn And Start Over Again
If you have a smaller lawn, and its completely overrun with clover, moss, and weeds, you may be tempted to start over again.
To do this, its best to avoid using herbicides to kill everything on your lawn, as this can ruin the fertility of the soil. Instead, smother your grass using a large tarpaulin, and then reseed it, or lay new sod.
You will need to wait about three weeks for everything on your lawn to die, and decompose enough to plant new grass.
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Removing The Clover By Hand
In some cases, you can actually dig the clover out of the ground, to remove it from your lawn without the need for weedkillers or other chemicals.
You may remove some areas of grass in the process, but its easy enough to overseed these bare patches, as we have discussed a bit below.
To remove clover, dig around it using a small gardening fork or hand trowel. Clover roots do not go very deep, so the main difficulty in this process is cutting through the initial layer of foliage, especially if clover is growing on top of existing grass.
Pull the clover out of the ground carefully, including its roots, and place it in a bucket or wheelbarrow, to prevent clover seeds from spreading onto other areas of your lawn.
If you see any roots, leaves, or seeds left over, try to carefully remove them from the soil. If doing this would be too difficult, it might be a good idea to smother the affected area for a week or two, to ensure that any remnants of the clover have time to decompose. We have explained how to do this below.
Should I Get Rid Of Clover In My Lawn
There are several reasons you may want to keep clover in your lawn. Due to its symbiotic relationship with bacteria, clover acts as a natural fertilizer. Clover gets its nitrogen from the air and releases it into the soil. Another benefit? Clover outcompetes other weeds. So instead of something unwanted and unsightly, you could have clover.
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How To Get Rid Of Clover Naturally
Manual removal of clover in your lawn can be very difficult. Since its roots are well spread, and the plant is mixed in with large sections of grass, it can be near impossible to segregate the clover from the grass.
If your looking for more effective natural ways to get rid of clover then check out: How to Get Rid Of Clover Naturally
Is Clover Beneficial For Your Lawn
Although clover is a weed it has some good qualities in it which can benefit your lawn. Lets discuss these:
ADVANTAGES OF CLOVER:
- Clover weeds dont take nitrogen from the soil but absorb nitrogen from the air, and enrich the soil and become a natural fertilizer for your lawn. So you never have to fertilize clover weed.
- Clover weed can survive in sunlight or shade and need no maintenance to make your lawn look green and lush. It will stay green all summer long and make your lawn look green and lush.
- Clover has flowers that attract bees and other wasps that keep the bugs and insects away. Thus it helps in keeping the insects away.
- Growing clover in your lawn is very affordable as it doesnt need special fertilizer or chemicals to grow.
- Clover weed doesnt need any mowing as it will grow very short and spreads horizontally on the lawn.
- Clover weed also doesnt require any herbicide to protect itself as it can protect itself from other weeds.
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Pick The Right Spreader
Chemical herbicides require a sprayer for the safe and even application of the product. Sprayers come in a variety of shapes and sizes:
For small lawns, use a small, hand-carried pump sprayer like this Vivosun Handheld Garden Sprayer Pump.
For medium lawns, use a backpack sprayer like this Field King Backpack Sprayer.
For large lawns, use a push sprayer or tractor-pulled sprayer like this Streamline Industrial Cart Mounted Sprayer.
Regardless of the sprayer that you choose, the most important aspect when trying to kill clover is making sure that the device is equipped with a high-quality fan-tip nozzle.
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How Does Clover Spread
Clover spread is a type of software that allows users to create spreadsheets for any purpose. The spreadsheet can be used to track expenses, income, or anything else that needs to be tracked. Clover spread also has a feature called cluster which allows users to group similar data together. This makes it easier to analyze the data.
Can You Use Fertilizer To Kill Clover
You can kill white clover on your lawn using fertilizer. A well-fertilized turf prevents unwanted plants from growing and ensures your turfgrass gets proper nitrogen levels.
Organic fertilizers can work too. However, if the white clover has overrun your grass, consider standard fertilizer. The best examples to consider include:
If you prefer organic fertilizer, consider spreading some coffee grounds on your lawn. You can also use eggshells by adding them to your compost and then using the finished product as soil sediment or surface mulch.
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Mow On A High Setting
Letting your grass grow a little longer can help to eradicate this weed.
Keep the mower on a setting of around 1in1.4in to help the turf gain strength and block out light for the clover, recommends David.
If the weed is widespread, rake the turf first to lift stems before mowing, adds the RHS. Remember to always use a grass box on the mower to minimize spreading seeds around and worsening the problem.
Need to update your tool for the job? Our buying guide to the best lawn mower is a good place to start your search.
Allow your grass to grow at a slightly taller height so that it blocks the light from reaching clover
Should I Remove Clovers From My Garden
While it is important to know how to get rid of white clovers without destroying the lawn, its equally as important to know why. Clovers do have many beneficial properties, so you dont always have to get rid of them if you dont want to.
Did you know that clovers can actually help to fertilize your lawn? Clovers have a symbiotic relationship with the bacteria in the soil. Sometimes, growing clovers can actually help your grass grow and recover.
More so, clovers prevent the spread of harmful weeds. You can also find micro-clover varieties that give you all the benefits of having clovers on your lawn without the unsightly drawbacks.
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Adjust Your Mowing Height
Mowing over clover with a lawnmower is a temporary way to control clover growth. Most people think that lowering their mowers height, so it sits closer to the ground is the most effective way to control clover. The opposite is true.
Clover is a low-growing weed and offers a shallow root system. Allowing your grass to grow taller blocks the sunlight clover needs to grow.
How To Get Rid Of White Clover In Your Yard
Lawn owners may not appreciate seeing spots of white on their yards, even if it comes from a beneficial plant. Clover can grow in poor soil and often begins its invasion in bare soil patches where theres very little nitrogen and competition. You may be wondering, how to get rid of white clover in your yard.
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How To Get Rid Of Clover In Your Lawn Naturally
Some homeowners like clover in their lawn, but many dont. If white clover is springing up and creeping out in patches in your yard, there are several ways you can get rid of it. If youre interested in going green, theres good newsyou dont have to use harsh chemicals. There are a number of simple ways to get rid of clover in your lawn naturally.
This Old House has rounded up the best methods for getting rid of clover in your lawn naturally, some of which wont even harm your grass. Once youve eradicated your clover problem, The This Old House Reviews Team recommends hiring a professional lawn care company to keep your lawn healthy, hardy, and robustmuch less likely to attract clover. We recommend TruGreen, an industry leader that offers five annual programs and a la carte services.
Introduce Nitrogen In The Soil
Its a known fact that poor soil will often lead to an abundance of weeds, including white clover. These plants require little nitrogen to thrive, and theyll be more than happy to fill up those blank spaces on your lawn.
That said, sometimes its as easy as feeding your grass regularly with nitrogen. You can go the organic route and put in some nitrogen-rich compost, or get a specially formulated grass fertilizer to infuse much-needed nutrients into the soil.
Follow the manufacturers instructions and dont go overboard, or else your grass will get burned by too much nitrogen.
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Deprive It Of Oxygen And Sunlight
You can kill clover by blocking it from all oxygen and sunlight. Take plastic sheeting or a garbage bag and place it over the patch, securing the corners with rocks to make sure it doesnt fly up. This should get rid of the clover in a few weeks. Be mindful that this approach will also kill any grass that gets under the plastic.
How To Get Rid Of Clover In Lawn Naturally
Fertilize: White Clover is very hard to control once it starts growing in your lawn. It can survive in lawns with low nitrogen which means it can grow in very poor conditions. The best thing you can do to make sure white clover does not show up in your lawn, is fertilize it regularly with a fertilizer high in nitrogen. The turf will be able to compete with the white clover and choke it out. Find a fertilizer that has a high amount of nitrogen and apply it Late Spring. We use Scotts Turf Builder Weed and Feed on lawns that we know are Nitrogen deficient. Be sure to apply the right amount, or you risk burning up the lawn if you apply to much nitrogen!
Remove it: A fast and easy way to get rid of clover is to remove it manually with a spade. Clover does not have a deep root system, so it is very easy to remove from the ground. Be sure to plant some grass seed after you pull it out, else weeds will grow back again! For those that live in the north, we recommend Pennington Smart Seed-Perennial Rye Blend. Perennial ryegrass has good traffic tolerance and can withstand droughts. It is also much cheaper than other grass types.
Corn Gluten: Apply corn gluten to the clover in late August once the summer heat is starting to fade away. Corn Gluten has no effect on existing weeds, but will killweed seeds before they germinate. It take about three to five years for the corn gluten to make a difference in your lawn. This is not a quick-fix solution, but it is all natural.
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How To Identify Clover In Your Yard
There are three types of clover that are most commonly found in lawns: white clover, red clover, and microclover. White and red clover are easily identified by their sphere-shaped clusters of tiny blooms and trio of petal-shaped leaves, each leaf bearing a white crescent or a V shape and measuring approximately one-half inch in size. The clover plant normally grows to no more than four to six inches in height although it can reach as much as 12 inches in height.
White clover can be found blooming from early spring until late fall. Red clover begins to bloom in late March and continues into April and can continue to bloom into early summer. Microclover is identified by leaves that are approximately half the size of white and red clover leaves. Once microclover has been mowed it may grow back at only one-third its original size. Microclover has significantly fewer flowers than red or white clover and its growth is denser and more far-reaching than the red or white varieties.
Microclover looks more uniform than other varieties of clover found in lawns, especially after its flowers have been removed by mowing. It grows lower to the ground than its counterparts. The fact that all varieties of this plant tend to grow close together makes it easy to spot clover patches in your yard.
