Clover, the familiar low growing trefoil plant, makes a soft, attractive, and environmentally sound lawn replacement. This is an environmentally friendly idea, but not a new one. Clover was once commonly used in 19th century lawns, before the culture of the perfectly neat, clean Kentucky bluegrass lawn came into vogue. This ground cover grows quickly and can overtake weeds. While a clover lawn is not for everyone, a mixture of clover and other grasses can provide a compromise.
The Benefits and Drawbacks of a Clover Lawn
Many common grasses need frequent mowing and lots of care. Clover does not, because it stays green and tolerates dry conditions. It also smells nice when flowering and needs no pesticides. Clover lawns do not tolerate heavy traffic well but pets do fine on it. Clover is generally soft and pleasant to walk through with bare feet. It grows slower than grass and less pollution is caused when cutting the lawn with a gas mower.
Clover is excellent for conditioning the soil or for nourishing the plants that may be growing near it. This ground cover fixes nitrogen through nodules in the roots after drawing it from the air. So, instead of taking nutrients away from the soil it replaces it. The long roots of clover also work to break up compacted soil, which makes it a good interim ground cover that will condition the soil in between plantings.
There are a few drawbacks to a clover lawn. The lovely white or pink flowers attract beneficial insects, though bees may also be frequent visitors. This is good if a nearby garden needs the work of pollinators, but bad if children like to go barefoot on the lawn. Mow the flowers often if the bees become a problem or people in the home have related allergies. Clover may also become spent in a few years, so reseed it if the lawn looks thin.
Types of Clover to Grow
White Dutch clover is the easiest to grow in the United States and the best for most lawns. This variety flowers from March through May and it grows between four to eight inches high. White Dutch clover will not become discolored if pets urinate on it.
Some gardeners prefer Red clover because of the pretty pinkish-purple flowers. Some consider this variety a weed but the plant is larger than White Dutch. Red clover can grow almost a foot high and has v shaped white marks on the leaves.
How to Replace Grass with Clover
To grow clover, buy the seed from a catalog or online garden supply house. Don’t buy a lot. Most lawns will need only about a half a pound of seeds because they are so small. There are a lot of clover seeds per pound.
Start the new lawn in the spring or summer so it can develop over the growing season. When it is time to plant, rake the lawn even if the grass is still there. The goal is just to disturb the soil so the seeds will have a place to take hold. Next, mix the seeds with a bag of soil in a wheelbarrow or large container. Mix well. There should be 4 seeds for every inch of soil. These seeds are very small and without the soil to even out the distribution the application may be patchy. Spread the soil and seed mixture evenly around the lawn. Gently spread another ¼” of soil on top of this.
Keep the clover moist during the early stages of growth. Water the new clover with a fine mist of water. A hard spray of water may wash away the seeds. After the first couple of weeks, only water the clover lawn once a week. Since clover can grow up to a foot tall, only mow it if vegetation of that height is undesirable. Clover can die back in cold weather. After three or four years the clover may begin to look bare or only grow in patches so reseed it by scattering new seed over top of the lawn.
Resources
St. Pat’s Day Shenanigans: Grow a Clover Lawn by Diane Rixon
GOG101
Catherine Mezensky - Catherine A. Mezensky is a writer and artist living in Baltimore Maryland. Her topics include gardening, film, culture and local history. ...
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