Hi, in the UK here. My lawn has a few strong patches of clover which I’d like to encourage to take over the whole place.
For context, I am black-thumbed and the lawn is some rolled turf over terribly hard ?clay soil.
What do I do?
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I’d be interested in some suggestions on this. I plan to have a clover lawn if I ever can afford to purchase a house.
Most things I’ve found with quick googles talk about seeding clover. I don’t mind being patient, but I’d like to know how to preserve my current naturally seeded clover and encourage it’s growth and the detriment of the grass.
Get seeds and start tossing it out in your yard. It’s literally that easy.
I mean, that’s great. What about without seeds and encouraging the clover I have already to spread?
Or, if it helps, let’s pretend I bought seeds and spread them and some patches didn’t take - how could I encourage clover to spread into those patches?
First off, you don’t want only clover in your yard. It won’t cover the ground like grass will.
What I would do and have done is get a tiller of some kind and tear up the patches that won’t take. Then put down some good grass seed (not the patch repair shit) and cover it with something meant for that.
As for the clover itself. It should self seed. Just let nature do its thing. You could also put some in a container with really good potting soil and move it around the yard to help the seeds spread.
OK so I’ve been experimenting for a few years now and this is what I have noticed
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Clover doesn’t grow like grass does. Grass is a group of individual blades l, whereas clover grows in clumps that keep getting bigger. I have one clump that is 2ft x 2ft but if you were to look at the roots they are in a little 6" circle. Instead of growing up it will grow outward.
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It’s aggressive. I planted flowers near a massive clover patch and last summer I was unable to cut the clover down and it suffocated EVERYTHING.
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Does very well in all the places. Full sun to full shade, it is sprouting everywhere.
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Harvest the flower, dry them for seeds and spread them.
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Yarrow. Find a native species that grows in your area. It’s also an aggressive spreader that does well as a grass substitute.
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I have had no success with grass alternatives that are essentially mixed flowers. They all died out in less than 4 years.
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I planted mint in my grass. It seems phenomenal whenever I cut it with the lawnmower. WARNING. Mint is extremely aggressive.
I’m in zone 3 so my options are limited, but I’m trying creeping thyme and a few moss options to see how they take.
Thanks for this.
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I think they mean, wait until the clover you have now seeds, collect the seed, and help it spread yourself.
That shouldn’t be necessary.
Ohhh, okay cool. I’ll give it a try.
Buy seeds and start tossing it out in the lawn. I would buy both white and red clover. Clover seeds are cheap and come with a ton of seeds.
I’m not in the UK but I’ve been doing this for my yard. I’ve also been selectively not mowing over chunks of clover and letting it grow a bit before mowing it down.