Getting Rid of White Clover

This is a guest post by Cooperative Extension Intern Preston Ellis. 

White clover is a weed that appears year after year as it continually grows and takes over lawns. The weed can be very difficult to get rid of, but with patience and care the task can be achieved.

While some people have decided to use white clover as a substitute to grass, most people do not enjoy the weed and see it as a nuisance. The low-lying weed can be very persistent and hard to get rid once it makes an appearance in a yard.

White clover appears in lawns that are made up of weaker grass and plants and especially in areas that are low in nitrogen. The tricky weed can appear in gardens and flowerbeds as well, putting down roots and becoming a regular fixture in a yard for the summer months.

To attempt to rid your yard of white clover, the first step should be prevention. Keeping your yard well fertilized should help keep the weed away as your grass should be strong enough to maintain its roots and not allow clover to intervene. Also, putting down mulch can be a very effective way to keep white clover covered and never give it a chance to grow up near or around your flowerbeds.

White clover still may find its way into your lawn and that is when hand picking can be helpful for very small infestation. While it may not be the easiest way to rid your lawn of white clover, it can be very effective. When pulling the weed make sure to get the root system and not just the white flower and leaves on top. If the root system is left behind, another batch of clover will be following right behind the clump you just pulled.

If the weed gets too plentiful as to where hand pulling is not an option, a herbicide may be the only option to rid your lawn of this plant. Herbicides however should be the last resort and used sparingly. Spot sprays can be very effective for small infestations.

White clover is an eye sore to many lawn lovers but is mostly a harmless weed that appears during the summer months, and is actually beneficial to bees and other pollinators. The weed attracts bees, caterpillars and other insects into your yard but doesn’t do much harm to any vegetation. The best way to get rid of the white clover in your yard is to prevent it as best you can. Other than that, just hope you are able to find one with four leaves and maybe luck will be on your side.

GardeningKnowHow.com was a key source used in writing this article by providing information and examples.