How To Kill Clover
1. Post-emergent, lawn safe herbicides are the most effective way to kill clover. Using a liquid post emergent herbicide will kill the clover without killing your grass. Post emergent herbicides are also useful in killing other lawn weeds.
2. Pre-emergent herbicides are effective in controlling the spread of clover but it is important to realize it will not kill existing clover.
Pre-emergents prevent new clover seeds from germinating. If you already have clover in your lawn you will need to use a post-emergent herbicide in addition to a pre-emergent.
Pre-emergent herbicides are also the key to preventing other lawn weeds such as crabgrass, and dandelionsfrom taking over.
3. Maintaining a healthy lawn is the best defense against clover, or any lawn weeds. When you have bare spots in your lawn, it is the weeds that will claim the real estate. Stick to a simple lawn care program to keep your existing turf lush.
Dont Mow The Grass Too Low
You will find that clover does well in grass that isnât so tall â usually shorter than 3 inches. However, your lawn grass finds this height stressful. So when the grass is too low, clover prospers while your grass struggles.
Therefore, make your grass taller than 3 inches. This way, it has a fighting chance against clover.
Clover Fertilizes Your Lawn
Clover has a symbiotic relationship with good bacteria that attach themselves to its roots. This bacteria absorbs nitrogen from the environment which helps give the grass its green color. Where you have plenty of clover you will notice the grass is thicker and greener. You may worry that clover will overtake your lawn, but that wont happen. Clover actually helps your lawn thrive. Without clover, your lawn could dry out and turn brown from the summer heat, but with the clover it could stay green and lush.
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Dont Let Lawn Care Companies Ruin Your Clover Lawn
If you hire a lawn care company and youre a person who considers the presence of clover in a lawn important, its vital to tell them that. They still routinely use herbicides that kill clover and wont hesitate to apply them unless you insist. Theyve even found inventive ways around laws passed to ban the use of cosmetic pesticides on lawns. It would be sad to see your little clover colony poisoned.
Long live clover in lawns. And long may it reign!
Five Benefits Of Keeping Clover In Lawns
Before World War II, White Dutch clover was prominent in lawns. In fact, it used to be a standard ingredient in grass seed mixes. But after petrochemical-based weed killers were introduced, these products killed weeds – and clover. Since then, the lawn plant has been looked down on as a weed, when, in fact, it has many benefits for lawns. Here are five reasons why you should think twice before getting rid of clover in your lawnthe benefits of this tiny plant may surprise you.
Everyone knows that a vibrant and lush lawn has some type of fertilizer helping it out, whether it’s granular fertilizer or even compost. However, many people don’t know that clover has the ability to fix nitrogen in yards, giving this yard plant the ability to act as a tiny fertilizer machine.Clover often moves into areas with poor soil because it heals soil that’s nitrogen-deficient clover takes nitrogen from the air, converts it to a plant-friendly form, and releases it into the soil. Voila! Beautiful grass.
There’s nothing worse than driving past a patchy brown yard in the drought of summer. It’s especially disheartening for lawn mowing businesses, because if there’s no grass to mow, there’s also no work. That’s why clover is so helpful. It stays green during even the driest spells due to its deep roots, out-performing many cool-season grasses and giving the visually pleasing aesthetic of a healthy lawn. Plus, it will keep the work coming for lawn maintenance professionals.
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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.
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.
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What Does Clover Look Like
This might seem like a silly question since many people, thanks to St. Patricks Day, know the familiar 3-leaf formation clover is known for. However, white clover is sometimes mistakenly confused for black medic and oxalis or yellow clover because of similar 3-leaf formations. White clover puts out small white flower clusters and is a perennial.
How To Remove Clover From Your Lawn
Clover or trefoil are common names for flowering plants in the legume or pea family.
A number of clovers and clover-like species can be a persistent nuisance in lawns, especially as they have a strong resistance to weedkillers.
Clovers are perennial weeds which are easily recognised by their trifoliate leaves.
You can find clover all over your garden, especially on lawns.
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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.
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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Control Dandelions By Eating Them
Looked at from the longer vantage point of history, dandelions are better known as a food source than as a lawn weed. For centuries, people have known the health benefits of ingesting dandelion. They are packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants and are known to have medicinal properties to treat everything from digestive disorders to eczema and arthritis.
Dandelion leaves are known to be slightly bitter and have a spicy quality similar to arugula. As such, they are great in salads, on sandwiches or steamed and served like any other leafy green. The root can be used as a coffee substitute and the flowers are used in salads and as a garnish. There are many dandelion recipes including cream of dandelion soup, dandelion syrup, and dandelion wine.
Dandelions are best harvested in the spring when the shoots are young and tender. Avoid picking dandelions near roadsides or other areas where they may have absorbed pollution or pesticides.
How To Remove Clover From Your Lawn Using Chemical
Natural weed removing remedies can take a lot of time to show results. If you are looking for a faster way to get rid of the weed, opt for a chemical-based solution. Here is what you can try:
- Ammonia Burn the clovers with ammonia. The chemical has the ability to scorch and kill the clover plant for good. Make sure to buy sulphate of ammonia made especially for lawns and apply it right after rain. If you dont favour waiting for a cloudy day, water your garden before the application with the help of a hose. Spread the chemical directly on the clover covered areas of your garden and only there. Perform the treatment once a month for best results. You can find this sort of ammonia in your local hardware store.
- Herbicides You can kill existing clovers and stop others from growing by applying herbicides. Remember to buy a herbicide that contains 4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and Dicamba. Spread the product directly on top of the plants and keep it away from other plants. Do this once a month for maximum results. Keep in mind that commercial herbicides will take a couple of weeks to rid you of weeds.
See? Removing clovers isnt as hard as you probably thought. However, before undertaking the task of getting rid of the weed for good, make sure to do it in a cautious manner. Most of the methods described here can and will kill other plants surrounding the clovers if you are not careful while performing them.
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The Origin Of Clovers
Now that you know why there is clover in your lawn, lets check out its origin. I will simply talk about how its become so common in the U.S.
You see, prior to the 1950s, homeowners used to mix clover seeds with their grass seeds on purpose. They did not have any chemically enriched weed killer to control the weeds.
During the 40s and 50s, clover was a common element in the lawn because of its ability to pull nitrogen from the air.
Did you know, there were no residential herbicides up until 1945? So, what was the mechanism to control weeds?
Clover was the only natural weed killer back then and it was already famous to increase soil fertility. So, they used to grow clovers on their lawns on purpose to have low-maintenance lawns!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is clover a sign of?
Having clover on the lawn is a sign of either fertile soil or poor soil that is about to get fertile. To understand whether its doing any good or bad, you need to check your lawn grass or other plants growing around it.
Why is my grass full of clover?
Having poor soil compaction in the lawn is a reason why your grass is full of clover. Another reason is the low pH level of the soil whereas your lawn grass needs pH level of around 6.5 7.0.
Is Clover a sign of a healthy lawn?
Yes, as long as they dont cause any damages to the lawn grass and create bare patches. You see, your lawn grass can be benefitted from the clovers as clovers can add nitrogen to the soil from the air naturally.
A Yard Full Of Clover
Theres a patch of clover in my parents yard that has been there as long as I can remember. Its proved impossible to kill, although I dont think any of us have tried too hard. You see, this special clover patch is legendary for its production of four-leaf clovers, and we all think its more fun to find them than it is to have a perfect lawn.
While visiting this past Mothers Day, my mom quickly spotted these with her eagle eyes the same eyes that always caught me thinking about misbehaving and always spotted my lost hair barrettes when I was late for school. Shes always been the best at finding them!
Even in my own yard, its really hard not to like clover. It doesnt need much mowing and makes a great low-maintenance ground cover. Its soft as velvet, attracts bees , has pretty white flowers, and is responsible for yummy clover honey.
Up until the 1950s, clover seed was a standard addition to lawn grass seed. Its only recently that we started viewing it as a problem in the yard, although its enjoying a growing popularity as an organic lawn alternative.
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Eliminating Weeds That Look Like Clover
The most common misidentification of clover is yellow sorrel/oxalis. You can tell the two apart by looking at the leaves. Oxalis has more of a heart shaped leaf while clover has oval shaped leaves. Like clover, oxalis spreads really fast so youll want to deal with it before it starts to take over your lawn. It has a complex root system so treating it with a herbicide is your best option.
Your lawn can naturally choke out all the weeds mentioned in this article. The best method is prevention. Keeping your grass tall and thick and maintaining good crop canopy will limit resources that weeds need to grow.
Properly fertilizing you lawn will be helpful too.
A good lawn care routine will prevent these weeds from popping up so you wont have to keep using herbicide products.
Finally, pay attention to your grass type. If you have a less resilient grass type, it will be less likely to choke out any weed so you may want to consider a total renovation to kill off the grass and reseed with tougher types of grass if weeds become too big of a problem.
Reason : Microclover Provides Clover Benefits Without Drawbacks
Over the years many people have called us wondering how to eliminate the Clover in their lawns without using chemicals. Once they understand the benefits of Clover they often leave the Clover and even consider purchasing additional Microclover to help make the lawn more uniformly Clover covered!
The image above is of a lawn seeded with our Microclover which flowers much less prolifically than standard White Clover and is aggressive enough to spread evenly through a lawn. We’ve found that lawns planted with Microclover stay greener, healthier, and have fewer weeds than lawns with no Clover. In addition, they need less fertilizer and water. So, if you’re now of the mindset that if you can’t “beat clover, join clover” then you might want to learn a little more about it by visiting our Microclover page. You can also purchase Microclover at our online store.
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Reasons You Have Clover In Your Lawn
One of the most common questions from homeowners is how to get rid of clover in lawns. Clover is a perennial weed thats prolific across Canada. Clover remains green when your lawn turns brown. Some homeowners find the white flowers produced by clover unsightly, and the flowers do attract bees. Clover can be very difficult to eradicate and requires several treatments throughout the season.
Apply A Vinegar Solution
An alternative to a weed-killing product is vinegar. Vinegar is a safe, all-natural solution to control clover and other invasive plants.
Fill a spray bottle with 3 parts vinegar and 1 part water. Next, add a small amount of liquid dish soap and shake to mix.
Once mixed, spray the solution directly on any clover that you come across. The dish soap allows the vinegar to stick to the clover, preventing it from running or draining off.
Following the tips listed here should give you the upper hand in your battle against clover. However, youll need to constantly work to remove this plant from your lawn. Like other invasive plants, clover will likely return.
Just remember to use a nitrogen-rich fertilizer, remove clovers from the root, and use either a chemical or natural weed-killing spray to spot-treat patches of stubborn clover.
Hopefully, this gives you a better understanding of how to deal with clover in your lawn.
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Reason : Clover Fertilizes Your Lawn
Clover has a symbiotic relationship with beneficial bacteria, which attach themselves to its roots. These bacteria can absorb nitrogen from the atmosphere, the main nutrient that gives grass its green color. Even better, if you have a good mix of Clover your lawn won’t need to be fertilized to look lush and green. Contrary to popular belief, Clover won’t take over your lawn, it will help your lawn. Notice how the the Microclover sections of this lawn are thick and green, while the grass only sections are brown from the Summer heat. Clover can keep your lawn looking great when other grass types gets stressed.
Benefits Of Growing Clover In Lawns
As you have probably heard, scientists are worried about how bee populations are faring around the world. And without enough bees, the worlds food supply would be in great peril.
Clover helps the bee population, as its a wonderful nectar source.
Just a few examples of vegetables that are pollinated by bees, butterflies, and other insects include beets, broccoli, asparagus, green peppers, tomatoes, squash, onions, lettuce, cucumbers, and celery.
A selection of the vast array of fruits that bees pollinate include apricots, cherries, figs, most citrus, kiwi, mango, papayas, strawberries, raspberries, peaches, avocado, and of course apples.
Look, we all want to have perfect lawns but its important to look out for the little guys that keep us fed, right?
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