Q&A for How to Grow a Clover Lawn

It only grows 4 to about 8 inches high at most so it will look like a natural groundcover if left natural looking.

You can attempt natural killing of it by covering with black plastic, cardboard etc. to block sun light, use a chemical vegetation killer and then by either method till up the soil to a depth of 8 to 10 inches, rake out and remove debris and re-plant.

Yes, you can mow it just like a regular lawn. If you mow it too early, however, you may not see the flowers.

Yes! Clover will spread to any areas that it comes in contact with. The roots grow deep.

No. Clover likes poor soil. Do not feed the weeds and grass if trying for a clover lawn.

No worries, just give it some time and plenty of water. Let nature do the rest. Only half will sprout because of overcrowding, but you don't need to do anything about it.

You should water it daily for the first 7 to 10 days after seeding. After that, watering is typically unnecessary. Clover is very hearty and drought tolerant.

Bees love all kinds of clover. The biggest reason to plant clover is for the bees. If you really don't want any bees, just keep your clover mowed so it won't flower.

That is the best way to do it. Just make sure to keep the soil moist for the first week.

Twice daily water is needed for the first week/week and a half. Enough water to keep the ground damp/moist but not soaked. For the rest of the month, decrease the watering to once a day, then every other day, then every third day, then once a week at most. Choose drought tolerant so it doesn't need much water.

Depends on the type of clover you seed. White clover can get to be 6 - 8" high.

A clover lawn will attract deer. Clover is a favorite food of many deer, and they will be attracted to the smell. However, clover is very resilient, and will stand up well to the deer eating it.

Once the clover is established, it will choke out the weeds. Pull any weeds while your clover is maturing to help it out.

Yes. In colder climates it will stay green longer then any grass lawn and in warmer climates it will be green year round, even in low rain areas, because the roots grow deep.

I'm assuming you have a fescue/bluegrass cool season grass type lawn already. First, mow your grass as short as you can in the very early fall. Scalp the lawn. Then, use a power-rake attachment on your mower (less than $20) to power rake your lawn. It will look awful - this is perfectly okay. Clean the excess grass and haul it away. Mix the clover seed with cornmeal to make it easier to broadcas,t otherwise the seed is so tiny it won't work. Plant at a rate of 5-7 oz per 1,000 feet of lawn. Water it twice a day for about a week, then taper down to once per day. You will see clover start to take hold. This power raking is very good for your fescue lawn, too. It will be beautiful.

Water your new clover every day for the first week. After that, you will never have to water again.

Treat it just like you would a grass lawn as far as stepping and playing on it. It is very durable, and even if your dog pees on it, you won't get the brown spots you would with a regular grass lawn.

The clover won't look unsightly, but some people don't like it and it does tend to spread. Talk to your neighbors if you're worried about what they might think.

Sure. Clover will grow 3-4 inches tall. Keep it cut so it blends with the existing lawn.

You can purchase them online or from a local greenhouse/nursery.

Yes, clover does spread, and rather quickly. In fact, it has been known to choke out competing plants. However, one of the reasons clover lawns are becoming so popular is that clover chokes out unwanted weeds and fixes the soil with nitrogen.

Yes. If you want to preserve your clover, be sure to avoid using such herbicides on your lawn. If, however, you're trying to get rid of it, Roundup will work.

Both clovers will grow in the same soils. However, if to have a successful lawn you are including aesthetics, know that the overall plant size for red and white clovers are different. If you do plant them together, you will have an uneven lawn. White clover plants are naturally smaller than red, so they will produce the most even and tidy looking lawn. Even if you mow red clover to keep it short, it will have larger stems and a larger plant base, so will not look as nice.

Clover will naturally spread and grow into open areas around it. If you want to grow clover in a particular area, dig up a portion of your existing clover and transplant it to a prepared bed in the area where you want it to grow. If you have clover seed leftover, you can also plant more to fill spaces faster.

Even if the clover seeds sprouted in that area and grew, keep in mind that the ant colony does its own landscaping. There may be a reason other than the sandy nature of the soil that other plants are not growing there. Are the ants keeping it clear for line of sight? is the formic acid they naturally produce making the soil inhospitable for plant life? I do not know the answers to these questions but I am thinking the best solution is to first move or remove the ants before putting time and money into that bare patch.

You really should stay off it until it is a couple of inches tall. The tiny plants are delicate and it will take 4-6 weeks for them to get big enough to stand much abuse. When it's big enough to make you want to mow it, then it's big enough to walk on.

Yes, but the grass will still need to be mowed if it is taller than the clover. You can over-seed the clover (heavily), and it may crowd out the grass or block the sunlight, causing the grass to die. If you are trying to avoid mowing, pulling up the grass is worth the effort.

It is best to get to the source. Take care of the saturation issue to avoid the grass problem. If there needs to be better drainage, take that on vs. choking grass out.

I've been using clover in my yard and as a cover crop in my garden. I see that during the first year, it gets established but produces few flowers. The second year it produces many flowers and seeds and also spreads by stolons (runners). After a few years, it often loses some of its vigor, but it will still be there.

As a hunter, I can say some of the best hunting areas are those covered in yummy delicious clover for deer to munch on! It's also popular with rabbits, bees and other wildlife. Deer eat clover, grass, corn, apples, acorns, tree bark, and a whole variety of other plants. Try searching for deer-repelling plants on Google.