White Clover

Perennial - sun or partial shade

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Trifolium repens

FAMILY: Fabaceae (beans, peas), also called Leguminosae or Legumes

HABIT: Low growing groundcover

HEIGHT: 3 - 6 inches

SPREAD: 12 - 18 inches

Round flower heads consisting of 20-40 white to pinkish-white florets on long stems. Creeping stems up to 15’ long with dark green three-part leaves. Roots at the joints of the stems. Deeply rooted. Likes cool weather and clay soils. Evergreen when irrigated in the summer. Plant in September or October for best results. Ground cover, cover crop, turf plant. One of the nation’s most important pasture legumes. Great for soil building because of its deep roots and nitrogen fixing ability. Usually considered a weed, but it shouldn’t be. It’s prettier than grass. This and all other clovers can be controlled with the Agralawn Crabgrass Killer product.

Honeybees are an introduced pollinator but they do a lot of important work in agriculture and in our home gardens. Their honey is an important food product. Clover also attracts bumblebees, mason bees, flies, and butterflies. The best way to protect and encourage the pollinators is to help biodiversity by using lots of varying plants and working together to eliminate toxic pesticides. Growing a lawn with clover in the mix is better for your soil and attracts pollinators.

Trifolium replens is native to Europe, the United Kingdom, and Central Asia, but has been introduced worldwide. It is a particularly important cover crop and forage for livestock.

White clover, photo from University of Missouri

Honeybee on white clover, photo USDA Forest Service

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