Overseeding clover seed into your existing lawn is an easy way to establish a clover lawn.
Choose Clover Type
There are many types of clover , the most widely cultivated are White and Red Clover. Large, high producing varieties are used for livestock forage. For lawns, the most popular is Dutch White Clover (Trifolium repens) because it is relatively low growing, tolerates close mowing, and out competes other foreign weeds.
One clover seed company, Earth Turf, has an Overseed Clover Mix with a new type of clover called MicroClover, which is the smallest clover variety available and blends really well into lawns. It is mixed with highly drought tolerant grasses that will further help the lawn. 5lbs covers 1000 sq ft.
Prep
The clover needs room to establish, so cut the lawn at the lowest mower setting, then use a thatch rake or rent a power dethatcher to remove thatch and thin the lawn.
Spread The Clover Seed
Spread by hand for small areas and use a broadcast spreader for large areas. If spreading pure clover seed, not mixed with grass seed, you may want to mix the seed with some sand or compost first to help spread more evenly.
Water
The soil needs to remain moist for good germination, so if it doesn’t rain, water everyday for the first two weeks. Water more if its hot out. The clover will sprout in 7-10 days.
[image from Versicolor.ca, an excellent source of clover lawn info]
{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
Planted a lawn with Earth Turf, I has came in nice – lots of little clovers.
Are you still happy with your clover lawn?
We were thinking about replacing our lawn since it has so much clover( and some weeds). It’s really not that bad looking since the clover is widespread and stays green with such little water. I don’t want to give in to a regular sod lawn with its high maintenance needs. Give me some ammunition to convince my husband that clover could be a reasonably good looking alternative.
Is “Burr Clover” the only clover with Burrs or do others (or all) have them?
most types of clover do not have burrs
I have kept an organic lawn, based on the permitted option in my homeowner’s association contract. Each year I get cited for their being too much clover in my lawn. (I have about 30% clover.) I have had to endure some kind of semi-organic solution to this by our very sympathetic lawn maintenance company. I don’t know if that is true. But he has told me my soil is of much higher quality than my neighbors’ chemical turfs. Does anyone know of a lawyer or a law that I can use to combat this attitude toward clover. I live in southern New Jersey. The only “weed” in my lawn is some clover. I pull up crab grass and dandelions just to make the old people happy.
Have you spoken to those in charge of your HOA? Ignorance should not be the reason for you getting citations. Best of luck.
I don’t know about a lawyer. But I can tell you about some awesome success with keeping dandelions down. I also do this just to keep my older neighbor happy.
I had read that some topsoil (organic) sprinkled in your lawn will suppress dandies. I used a small bag one year and sprinkled most of it right into my existing lawn. The dandies decreased by 90% and my neighbor is happy!
easy on the “old people” comments…
Nice article! We have an accidental clover lawn ( which we love for it’s benefits and it’s blooms that attract bees ). We still have some grass and I hope you can help. Are there any non-toxic fertilizers for lawn, that will not hinder clover growth or it’s bloom cycle ? Also, our clover is green and we are hoping to introduce red clover next year. Any thoughts? Thank you much!
Don’t introduce red clover! It is not suitable for lawns (grows much higher than white clover).
Trevor Dodge, I realize this reply is quite late, but heed what Sharon Newman said….red clover does grow very tall (about 36″ before blooming!) I tried it in our garden just to experiment a bit….it looks beautiful, but needs to be cut with a weed-whacker to remove it or till it under at the end of Fall. It also grows so dense that a bit of powdery mildew grew in plants nearby. As a container specimen, it would be beautiful, but keep in mind…..it gets quite tall! I shoveled it under at the end of the season…..now my Mint is invading the same area….I’ll plant white clover this year : )
how do you keep the clover from taking over your planting beds ?
Do the bunnies like this type of clover? I leave clumps of other clover in my beds so they have something to eat other than my plants. I’m trying to establish natives in my gardens.
Does this work to control your bunnies?
I have a dog who’s allergic to most types of grass. Does anyone have any thoughts on dogs being allergic to clover? It wasn’t on her allergy panel – because it isn’t a common allergen or because it isn’t common in lawns, I don’t know. Even knowing if dogs have more or less itching with clover who be helpful.
In Logan Utah there is a dog park with a clover lawn. Looks good and less maintenance.
Just curious of a few things like, how it performs in full shade, does it drowned out invasive buttercup, and a big one is what does it look like in the winter in Vancouver b.c.?
Hello,
I can see how this type of yard would be extremely “susatainable”. I even keep clover for ground cover in shady areas of my yard.
I have to ask though what happens to nitrates from animal waste and other sorts of nitrate pollution. Since the clover is fixing the nitrogen from N2 it wouldnt allow for other microbes that fix nitrates and nitrites into soluble ammonium for grass. This would cause water runoff from the yard to make its way into rivers and lakes and eventually the ocean causing algae blooms.
I’m an all for susatainable practices but saying flat out clover yards are better for the environment are incorrect. I think we should be working towards educating homeowners in the proper way to care for their lawns. This will lead to a better environment. Balancing the proper plants and nutrients in a system allow for beneficial bacteria that filter out chemicals in the soil to flourish.
Educating the homeowner would be the beginning to a healthier environment.
Thank
Jay Loudermilk — Would you suggest some other plant that might function more harmoniously with Clover? I see your concern about clover fixing Nitrogen, but am unsure if your question is based upon truth or hypothesis….do you know for sure that clover would not allow Nitrogen-fixing microbes to flourish? Please tell us more about beneficial bacteria that filter out chemicals in soil. Thank you!
Jay, can you site any research to back up your comments? Clover gets nitrogen from the air. Air is mostly nitrogen (72%). Animal waste, unevenly distributed over any lawn, is broken down by microbes in the soil. Also, when the clover dies, it lends its nitrogen to the soil, which is, again, broken down by microbes in the soil.
Is there a way to establish clover into the lawn without extensive work which I am not able to do? I was hoping to just over-seed.
What do you do when the clover grows to high? If you mow it too loew and chop all the leaves off, will it die?
Thanks,
Mike
Hi Mike
Use Microclover. It really is micro and you won’t cut off all the leaves. ?
Good day,
We are considering many alternatives to a grass lawn. We have a beautiful golden oak that covers over half our lawn and I defend it tactically. That said, we have no grass underneath it, not much anyway. I seed with dense shade seed and it comes up and then dies mid summer. I won’t waste the water. We have considered turf but I just can’t do the carpet look. So is clover a shade tolerant method?
I planted about 90% clover (DW, some micro) and 10% slow growing fescues and such (for some green in winter) several years ago.
I let the yard go into full bloom – huge white carpet with the buzz of the bees – love it.
The issue I am having is that each year, the grasses are taking over more and more.
I would say I am at best 25% clover now.
How do I get the clover to ‘win’ the war with the grasses?
Marty,
Clover is a biennial, so you will need to reseed every 2-3 years. You can also let it grow “tall” in the fall. Let it bloom and seed itself. If it is that sparse, however, I would cut the grass as short as possible, power rake, and then reseed in the fall.
Overseeded a portion of our lawn a couple of weeks ago to see if it would look better than the rest of the lawn. There were some bare spots that got seeded as well. Have been watering every day. Nothing. No little green sprouts at all. I am extremely disappointed.
Threw over a pound on my lawn 11 days ago .Nothing yet? Lots of water.
Nobody, your article included, does not indicate how much sand to clover seed is used when planting a clover lawn.
Do you have a ratio in weight, or cups?
Any guide would be appreciated.
I am considering clover for all of my lawns as we are in high drought conditions year round in Sacramento and getting worse every year. I have let it go and the clover that is there is growing like crazy and practically taken over. In the back yard I have dense shade areas where only a dense shade grass works with no clover in any of it since I used weed and feed this year.
How do you deal with weeds with clover and how well does it work in dense shade. Weed and feed fertilizers attack clover.
We have a giant yard and are looking for an alternative to mowing the whole thing. I am getting the idea from reading that you can throw the seeds on top of lawn which would save us from having to kill lawn and then dig up and then plant. We love the idea of micro clover. I have a couple of questions if someone could help I would be so happy. Please and thank you!
1. Do we have to dig up existing trees to plant this micro clover? or can we plant aroud them?
2. What about dandalions growing in with the clover? Has anyone had this problem and if yes what did you do to resolve it?
I’d love to convert our large back yard to clover, but we have two dogs. Is microclover (or any clover) harmful for dogs? What if they chew on it? We’re having trouble finding a drought-tolerant ground cover that is safe for dogs. Thanks!
Considering clover for our backyard that has a huge cedar tree – acidic soil, shaded, and needles fall everywhere. We also have a dog who likes to run. Does anyone have experience with a dog on a clover lawn?
I live in Columbia, SC, Zone 8a. As you know, it gets extremely hot and humid here in the summer. Is the micro clover product tolerant of terrible heat?
Is this mix also attractive to pollinators?
Re dandelions are easy if you keep on top of the situation use organic based weed begone, you can purchase concentrate . During high heat dig out weeds, keep mowed don’t let flower and bag if you have dandelions. I have kept a reasonabl6lawn l fertilize 4 times a year, use weedbegone, dig out weeds frequently. I also hire a company to aerate. I overseed in the early fall. I have also done a dormant seeding on frozen ground. Overseeding and fertilizing keeps the lawn thick and fewer weeds. Consider clover intermixed with your grass seed.
I see a zone map, but no zone numbers. We are north of Dallas and it’s difficult to tell if Dallas is included in this map. Perhaps it’s borderline? May or may not do well?
Any advice on zone 8?