Read a commented white clover profile here. Compact information informs you about flowering time, use, clover family and special features. Practical tips on how to sow white clover seeds correctly.
What is white clover and what uses does it have?
White clover (Trifolium repens) is a perennial, herbaceous plant that occurs in meadows, lawns and along roadsides. It blooms from May to October and attracts many insects. White clover can be used in the garden as a source of nitrogen, as a pasture for bees or as a substitute for lawns, and is also considered a medicinal plant.
Profile
- Scientific name: Trifolium repens
- Family: Legumes (Fabaceae)
- Growth type: perennial, herbaceous plant
- Occurrence: meadows, lawns, roadsides
- Growth height: 5 cm to 20 cm
- Leaf: threefold pinnate
- Flower: Head
- Flowering period: May to October
- Fruit: legume
- Special feature: edible
- Root: taproot
- Use: natural garden, agriculture, medicinal plant
Bloom
From May to October, spherical flower heads rise above the creeping, leafy stems. An inflorescence stem stretches up to 30 centimeters towards the sky. The spherical inflorescences are made up of up to 80 hermaphrodite individual flowers. Each individual flower protects pollen and nectar with a folding mechanism. Single flowers that have bloomed tend to the ground, giving the head a disheveled appearance.
During the white clover flowering period, there is a seductive scent of nectar. This attracts numerous insects. Desirable candidates for pollination are wild bees, honey bees and bumblebees. It is primarily stinging insects that can overcome the folding mechanism of a white clover flower. As a reward for transporting pollen, the bees can help themselves to the rich nectar buffet. White clover is therefore a welcome guest in bee-friendly gardens.
Fruits
Pollinated white clover flowers transform into tiny legumes with these properties:
- Shape: elongated, flattened with a wafer-thin wall.
- Fruit contents: 3 to 4 seeds, clearly visibly constricted.
- White clover seeds: 1 mm to 3 mm small, rounded to kidney-shaped, orange-yellow or sulfur yellow.
- Fruit ripeness: August to October
In autumn, the ripe pods burst open and send seeds in all directions. The wind and numerous animals to which the seeds stick are responsible for the spread in meadows, on lawns and along roadsides.
Roots
White clover drives a long taproot into the ground and does not form underground runners. Trifolium repens is popularly known as creeping clover because the leafy stems creep above ground. The shoots reach a length of up to 40 centimeters and are rooted at the nodes in the ground. As a typical creeping hemicryptophyte, white clover forms its survival buds on the surface of the earth as a basis for growth over several years.
There are special features worth knowing that shape root growth and make white clover a natural treasure. White clover roots maintain a close community with nodule bacteria as a green win-win symbiosis. The nodule bacteria use the roots as a habitat. In return, the bacteria process elementary atmospheric nitrogen and use it to make plant-available nitrogen, the engine of growth. The soil will later be adequately supplied with the vital nutrient via plowed white clover roots.
Leaf
Every child knows the leaves of white clover. Who hasn't counted the small leaflets in the hope of finding a four-fold leaf as a symbol of good luck? The following botanical features form the prosaic framework of the magical meaning:
- Leaf shape: petiolate, threefold fingered, ovate
- Leaf stem: 10 cm to 20 cm long
- Leaf feathers: 1 cm to 4 cm long and twice as wide
- Leaf edge: finely toothed
- Arrangement: alternate on lying stem axis
The discovery of fourfold white clover leaves in meadows or on roadsides is very rare and a real stroke of luck. Special, four-leaf cultivars are grown in garden centers as a commodity. Lucky clover (Oxalis tetraphylla), offered at the turn of the year, naturally thrives with fourfold leaflets.
Usage
Creeping clover is well on its way to shaking off its bad reputation as a lawn weed. Nature-oriented hobby gardeners, farmers, beekeepers and herbalists greatly appreciate the positive characteristics of white clover. The following table provides a representative overview of popular possible uses:
| In the garden | Crops | Medicinal plant |
|---|---|---|
| Green manure | Forage plant | relieves menopausal symptoms |
| Bee Pasture | Beekeeping traditional plant | detoxifying (liver) |
| Lawn replacement | Wild vegetables | digestive |
| ornamental plant | Intermediate costume | blood purifying |
In the garden, white clover supplies the soil with nitrogen, is sturdy, rich in nectar and a feast for the eyes with its colorful ornamental varieties. In agriculture, white clover is grown as a nutritious fodder crop and soil-improving crop. Edible leaves and flowers are very popular as tasty wild vegetables. Prepared as a tea, white clover is useful as a natural remedy. Nowadays, you don't necessarily have to plant and laboriously plow in white clover as a soil activator. You can find out how to easily fertilize your natural garden with white clover in this video:
Video: Fertilizing with white clover
Planting white clover
In the hobby garden, white clover is grown by sowing. This can be easily achieved over large areas as green manure or lawn replacement. Locally, you can easily master direct sowing in the vegetable patch as an intermediate crop and in the flower bed as a pasture for bees. When, how and where to sow white clover seeds, read here:
Sowing
White clover seeds germinate at temperatures just above freezing. The window for sowing opens in March and only closes in late summer. This is how you skillfully sow white clover:
- Weed the seedbed, rake several times, smooth out the fine crumbly soil with a rake
- Sprinkle seeds widely (3 g/m²) or sow in row spacing of 20 cm
- Incorporate the light germinator to a depth of 0.5 cm to 1 cm or sieve over it
- Press the soil down, either with your hands, with a wooden board or a lawn roller
- Watering with a lawn sprinkler or can with a watering bar
- Keep the area slightly moist until emergence
A protective net fends off uninvited guests who want to attack the seeds or seedlings. For use as an ornamental plant, separate the strongest seedlings at a distance of 10 cm to 20 cm.
Location
White clover demonstrates its many advantages at this location:
- Sunny to semi-shady location, ideally humid and cool up to 25° Celsius.
- Normal garden soil, preferably loamy, nutrient-rich soil, calcareous, fresh to moist.
- Exclusion criteria: light sandy soil, acidic pH value below 5.5 and persistent waterlogging.
It is important to note the correct crop rotation. White clover is incompatible with itself and other legumes. For this reason, a cultivation break of five to six years is taken between sowings.
Excursus
White clover versus red clover
In the natural garden, the two types of clover compete head-to-head for the hobby gardener's favor. There are important differences to consider in terms of cultivation: white clover is less demanding, more resistant to treading, and less sensitive to cold and drought than red clover (Trifolium pratense). However, white clover spreads invasively with creeping shoots. Red clover, also known as meadow clover, thrives with upright stems 40-80 cm high.
Care for white clover
White clover is very easy to care for. It is important to water regularly when it is dry. The roots on the creeping shoots cannot withstand a prolonged period of drought. In poor locations, a supplementary nutrient supply is beneficial. Fertilize white clover in March with mature, sifted compost soil. Do not rake in the fertilizer, but rather spray the clover area with water. As an organic liquid fertilizer, a shower of nettle manure stimulates growth.
Fighting white clover in the lawn
Creeping clover can be very annoying. In fact, Trifolium repens is one of the most common weeds in lawns. If the hobby gardener comes along with a lawn mower, the prostrate shoots simply duck away under the rotating blades. Read the best tips here on how to successfully fight white clover in the lawn without poison:
- Remove white clover nests from the lawn with a weed cutter or hand scarifier and re-sow lawn seeds in the gaps.
- If there is a large infestation, scarify and fertilize the lawn twice a year.
The trend is a change from a uniform lawn to a natural wildflower meadow in which life pulsates. More and more hobby gardeners are saving themselves time-consuming lawn care and are warmly welcoming white clover, red clover, daisies and dandelions.
Popular varieties
In addition to the original species Trifolium repens, the trade has various white clover subspecies and decorative varieties available as seeds:
- Trifolium repens 'Quadrifolium Purpureum': Four-petalled variety with purple-white flowers from May, 30-60 cm high.
- Small white clover (Trifolium repens ssp. prostratum): the ideal, extra-hardy white clover variety as a lawn replacement.
- Bianca: traditional variety, medium leaf size, particularly hardy and high-yielding.
- Liflex: earliest white clover variety with high grain density, good tread resistance, medium leaf size.
- Grasslands Huia: frost-resistant green manure variety from Kiepenkerl, soil-opening and easy to care for.
Microclover is causing a sensation on the seed market for an evergreen lawn with white clover.
FAQ
Is white clover edible?
All parts of white clover are edible except for the roots. From June to September you can harvest the flowers as an ingredient in salads and vegetable dishes. Young shoots and tender leaves spice up cold and warm dishes. White clover seeds harvested in August and September are ideal for processing into flour. Raw food fans germinate the seeds for a vitamin-rich enjoyment as sprouts. White clover flowers taste mildly sweet, leaves and shoots are reminiscent of the aroma of peas, corn and lamb's lettuce.
How to remove white clover from the lawn?
In the early stages, white clover still appears in spots on the lawn. You can remove these clover nests with a weed cutter or hand scarifier. You can repair the resulting gaps with grass seeds or pieces of turf. Fight dominant white clover infestations in the lawn with persistence. Scarify and fertilize the green area at least twice a year.
When is the best time to sow white clover?
White clover seeds germinate at a temperature of 3° Celsius. The best time for sowing is therefore in March and April for an early flowering period from May. The time window remains open until August/September for direct sowing in the bed as green manure, lawn replacement or bee pasture. You can sow ornamental varieties for cultivation in pots or flower cards on the windowsill from February.
How long can white clover seeds germinate?
For white clover seeds from specialist retailers, the expiry date can be found on the packaging. White clover seeds you collect yourself will remain viable for many years as long as you keep the seeds dark and dry. Experienced hobby gardeners report that the seeds germinated within a few days after more than 20 years. Red clover is even said to have a germination potential of up to 100 years.
