Clover Lawns Might Be the Secret to a Healthier Garden (and Less Work!)

If you’ve been spending this summer despairing over all of the upkeep your grass lawn requires, it might be time to think about some non-grass alternatives. One of my favorites, as a professional horticulturist and onetime nursery owner, is clover. Yes, you can replace grass with a totally clover lawn!

You may think of clover as a weed at worst, or a St. Patrick’s Day symbol at best, but this low-maintenance ground cover plant is a great pick for many homeowners who don’t want to fuss with frequently watering, fertilizing, or mowing their lawns. (And you might be seeing it in your own area more and more often thanks to the trend among homeowners to opt for non-grass lawns.)

That said, it’s not a perfect fit for every landscape or every homeowner, so it’s important to do your research first. Here’s what to know about installing and maintaining clover lawns.

Clover lawns are lawns that are planted with clover instead of traditional turfgrass.

There are different types of clover lawns, based on the type of clover you want as well as the type of coverage you desire.

You can choose clover to completely carpet an entire expanse of lawn, or you may prefer to grow it in a mixed medley as one component of other plants that comprise a lawn, such as conventional turfgrass and other groundcovers. Generally speaking, it offers a lot of bang for the buck when you choose the right fit for your landscape.

Pollinators love clover flowers! You may not have thought of having a lawn that also produces flowers, but this is a definite plus for many people of having a clover lawn.

Depending on which clover species or cultivar you grow, you’ll see flowers in shades of red, pink, lavender, or white in spring and summer.

Individual clover blossoms aren’t as flashy as many other flowers you grow in your garden beds, but they’re so profuse that an expanse of clover in bloom is a lovely sight. And just wait until you see the visitors that come to the flowers for a sip of nectar: butterflies, moths, and bees top this list.

Another big plus of a clover lawn is that you’ll save money by not having to buy as much nitrogen fertilizer — if any — which conventional turfgrass gobbles up. That’s because of clover’s ability to provide its own source of this nutrient through a scientific process known as “nitrogen fixing.”

The quick version of this process: Clover has a symbiotic relationship with a bacterium in the soil that converts nitrogen from the air into plant-usable nitrogen. From there, clover is able to pull the nitrogen up from the soil through its roots. 

If you do choose to grow clover interspersed in a turfgrass lawn, the nitrogen-fixing ability of clover benefits the turfgrass growing around it by boosting its nutrient needs, too.

This natural method of fertilization will even improve the soil around the clover to enrich the soil surrounding other plants in the lawn, including trees, shrubs, and flower beds. The nitrogen won’t travel across your lawn — it’s not going to jump from one side to the other — but it will benefit plants in close proximity to the clover. New Mexico State University notes that clover may supply up to 500 pounds of nitrogen per acre. 

Depending on the type of clover you grow, you also may not have to mow your lawn — undoubtedly a big win for many folks!

Some clovers grow only 4 inches to 6 inches high, while other types grow 3 feet tall. Before choosing clover for your lawn, make sure to note the mature height you can expect.

The amount of sun exposure is an important consideration for any landscape plant, even turfgrasses. Clover is no exception. If your yard is shaded, or receives mostly shade, clover may not perform well for you. It grows best in full sun, typically at least six to eight hours of direct sun each day. 

Although clover lawns are fairly drought-resistant, they’re not extremely so. You’ll have to water your lawn during periods of low rainfall, especially when true drought conditions come your way. Otherwise, your lush lawn will have you looking for that elusive four-leaf clover to wish for rain!

Use caution when using weed killers around clover, because its sensitivity to herbicides means it’s easily killed by their use. Interestingly, that’s what cut clover out from lawn seed mixtures: Prior to the 1950s, clover seeds were commonly added to lawn seed mixtures, but they were eventually eliminated when homeowners started using weed killers to control other lawn weeds and kept killing the clover along with them.

If you or someone else in your household has a sensitivity to bee stings, a clover lawn may not be the best choice for you. Clover flowers are irresistible to many bee species, which makes clover a terrific choice for encouraging pollinators to visit your yard, but not so great a choice for the bee hazard it presents to people and curious pets.

Speaking of pet hazards, here’s a heads-up for horse owners: Rutgers University cautions against planting a clover called the “bad-luck” clover (aka alsike clover, Trifolium hybridum) because of its extreme toxicity to horses.

Clover lawns are remarkably cold-hardy. This means you can grow most types of clover lawns in USDA plant hardiness zones 3-11.

As with some other types of lawn grasses and many ground covers used as turfgrass replacement options, clover will die to the ground in most climates during winter (except those in frost-free areas). It comes back from the roots in spring, but you will find that there are periods of time when your yard looks patchy and bare.

You may have to order clover seeds online, as they’re not always readily found at your local garden centers.

If a no-mow option is one of your priorities, look for “microclover” types, which keep a neater and shorter growth habit than larger clover plants.

Be on the lookout for microclovers named Pirouette and Pipolina in particular. You may see these listed in online catalogs and seed labels under their scientific names: Trifolia repens ‘Pirouette’ and Trifolia repens ‘Pipolina.’

Planting a clover lawn follows a similar protocol as planting any other type of lawn. If you’ve never started from scratch by planting a new lawn before, here are some general guidelines:

1. Remove all the grass, weeds, and rocks from the intended planting area.
2. Rake the soil smooth.
3. Sow your seeds.
4. Lightly covering the seeds with a mulch cover such as straw to help retain moisture. “Lightly” means that you can still see some of the ground underneath the strands of straw. If you cover too thickly, enough sunlight and water won’t be able to reach the seeds, and your new lawn may fail.
5. Water the area thoroughly a couple times per day until the clover is established.

For greater success, observe label directions, as these may vary from brand to brand.

Generally speaking, the rule of thumb is to use about a pound of clover seeds for every 1,000 square feet you want to plant if you’re wanting a clover-only yard.

If your goal is to incorporate clover seeds into an existing lawn — or use it as one component in other types of seeds you’ll use for a multiplant look for your lawn — adjust this amount based on your preference, or use a pre-packaged seed blend.

Whether you’re establishing a new lawn, or incorporating clover into an existing lawn, don’t forget to keep newly sown seeds watered well until they take root and begin to grow. 

Because clover fixes its own nitrogen in the soil, you won’t need to use nitrogen fertilizer — which means you’ll avoid any issues of nitrogen runoff. That’s great news for anyone who lives near lakes and ponds, since the nitrogen runoff can cause harmful algae blooms that disrupt native wildlife and affect water quality.