How to Plant clover in existing lawn

How to Plant Clover in Existing Lawn | Premium Tips

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How to Plant clover in existing lawn? A clover lawn is one in which the ground cover is formed completely of clover or a blend of clover and lawn grass.

Clover has little white blooms and a large number of wide leaves that cover the ground like grass. It’s a legume, which means it absorbs nitrogen from the air and releases it to neighboring plants, ensuring that your lush grass stays green.

This also eliminates the need to fertilize clover lawns. Clover plants are drought tolerant and normally don’t need to be watered on a regular basis once they’ve established themselves.

A clover lawn has a ground cover made entirely of clover or a combination of clover and lawn grass. 

Clover is a grass-like plant with small white blossoms and a great number of broad leaves that blanket the ground. It’s a legume, which means it collects nitrogen from the air and distributes it to other plants, keeping your luscious lawn green.

How to Plant clover in existing lawn

Clover lawns do not need to be fertilized as a result of this. Clover plants are drought resilient and do not require frequent watering after they have established themselves.

What exactly is clover ? How to Plant Clover in Existing Lawn

Clover arrived in North America in the late 1600s from Europe. It belongs to the pea family and is classed as a legume. It’s used all across the world, and there are over 300 different species.

Clover is commonly grown as a cover crop, but it is also harvested and used as hay or feed for cattle. Clover attracts a lot of bees, which means clover honey can be produced. Clover attracts a variety of species, including deer, turkeys, and rabbits.

Clover hasn’t always been thought of as a weed, and it isn’t all awful. Before broadleaf weed herbicides were created in the 1950s, clover seed was a common component of grass seed mixtures.

All About Clovers:

What is the Best Way to Plant Clover on My Lawn?

If you want to add clover to an existing lawn, cut it close and remove any thatch so the seed can fall to the soil surface.

To sow clover by itself, combine it with enough sand to make it easier to distribute. For every 1,000 square feet of lawn, 2 ounces of clover is required.

Apart from the aforementioned, what will destroy clover but not grass? Zamzows Ultra Weed Control for Lawns is the only weed killer that you may use.

If the guidelines are followed, Zamzows Ultra Weed Control will eliminate over 200 broadleaf weeds in your lawn (including clover) while causing no harm to the turf. Other weed killers don’t work until it’s too late.

Select a Clover Type

Clover comes in a variety of colors and varieties, with White and Red Clover being the most popular. Forage for cattle is made up of large, high-yielding kinds. Because it is generally low growing, tolerates close mowing, and outcompetes other foreign weeds, Dutch White Clover (Trifolium repens) is the most popular for lawns.

Earth Turf, a clover seed provider, offers an Overseed Clover Mix that includes a new type of clover called MicroClover, which is the tiniest clover variety available and blends in well with lawns. It’s blended with drought-tolerant grasses to improve the lawn even more. 5 lbs will cover 1000 square feet.

Prep

Because the clover requires space to grow, mow the lawn at the lowest setting possible, then remove thatch and thin the lawn with a thatch rake or a machine dethatcher.

Distribute the Clover Seed

For small areas, spread by hand; for larger areas, use a broadcast spreader. If you’re distributing pure clover seed that hasn’t been combined with grass seed, you might want to mix it with some sand or compost beforehand to help it spread evenly.

Water

For optimum germination, the soil must be kept moist, therefore water every day for the first two weeks if it doesn’t rain. If it’s hot outside, drink even more water. In 7-10 days, the clover will sprout.

Understand Your Clovers Requirements

Clovers require sunlight, water, and a pH level of 6 or 6.5 to thrive. Before you plant clover on an existing lawn, you must first test your soil or get it analyzed.

Clovers need a high pH since it is where they receive their critical elements like phosphate and potassium.

Lime can also be added to the soil to assist maintain the pH and reduce the demand for fertilizer.

Clover is a hardy plant that thrives in a variety of soil types, including sandy loam and clay. It can also withstand a wide range of temperatures and exposure to the sun.

Clovers are typically planted in the spring or early summer after the earth has softened from the spring rains.

  • Keep in mind that clovers grow slowly and are only a few inches long.
  • Fertilizers should be added to offer you additional material to work with.
  • Never apply a powerful fertilizer because it may cause the plant’s delicate roots to be burned.

Distribute the Clover Seed

  • Spread by hand in limited areas.
  • Use a broadcast spreader over big areas.
  • To disperse pure clover seed that hasn’t been blended with grass seed, mix the seed with some sand or compost first to help it spread evenly.

Needs for watering

It is critical to hydrating to the soil prior to sowing in order to keep it moist. Clovers require 30 inches (76.2 cm) of rain per year to be fruitful, with 45 inches (114.3 cm) or more being ideal.

To ensure that clover germinates properly, keep the growth area moist.

  • For the first two weeks, water every day if it doesn’t rain.
  • Increase the amount of water you drink in hot weather.
  • In most cases, the clover will sprout in 7-10 days.

Maintain

Micro clover does not require as much water as grass and should not be treated with herbicides. You can fertilize with fertilizer if you like, but clover does a fantastic job of keeping itself fertilized because it naturally takes nitrogen from the air.

Clover lawns, as you may have guessed, require far less maintenance than grass lawns. However, you can’t expect them to appear postcard-perfect if you just let them grow wild (of course, if you like wild lawns, go for it).

Mow your clover once a month to maintain it looking like a swarm of tiny green clones.

Is Clover a decent lawn plant, aside from that?

Clover may really be beneficial to your grass because it requires less water, fertilizer, compost, herbicide, and weeding. There are two varieties of clover lawns: pure clover lawns, which are excellent for low to moderate traffic areas, and mixed grass-clover lawns, which are best for heavy traffic areas like playing fields.

Clover lawn pros and cons:

Advantages & Pros of the clover 

Clover is a low-maintenance plant that can be used to cover your back or front yard. The following is a list of some of the benefits of having a clover lawn.

They do not necessitate a lot of water. Clover lawns require little watering and can endure a wide range of light conditions, from full sun to partial shade, thanks to their strong roots. Unlike grass lawns, clover lawns can be watered only once a season after they are established and will stay green, but grass lawns must be watered on a regular basis.

Clover lawns are self-sustaining. Clover, like all legumes, is a self-fertilizer that produces its own nitrogen.

Other plants will benefit from the nutrients, and gardeners will save money on fertilizer.

Clover is also a natural spreader, accumulating trace minerals from the soil and dispersing them as it decomposes, allowing new growth to flourish.

They don’t necessitate a lot of mowing. Most cover plants only reach a height of eight inches and require little upkeep.

Some people prefer to mow their clover lawns once in the middle of the summer to deadhead old blooms, but this isn’t necessary because these plants attract helpful insects like honeybees, pest-fighting wasps, and other pollinators.

Disadvantages & Cons of a Clover Lawn

The following are some of the potential drawbacks of a clover lawn: Growth might be stifled by foot traffic. Clover is not robust enough on its own to withstand high foot traffic regions unless it is combined with other grasses.

It needs to be reseeded. Because clover is a short-lived perennial, many pure clover lawns will need to be reseeded every two to three years.

Clover, on the other hand, will easily reseed itself in mixed-grass lawns and does not require any additional assistance.

Bees are drawn to it. Clover flowers attract bees, which can be beneficial when it comes to planting fresh flowers

A clover lawn, on the other hand, may not be for you if you are allergic to bees or do not want to encourage them to congregate near your home.

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