Combating clover in lawns: should you really want to do this?
It is a frequently asked question: how can I combat clover in my lawn? The question may also be: should you want to combat clover in your lawn? These plants add a lot of life (and nutrition) to a lawn with grass. We will tell you more about it, and if you do want to remove it, we will show you poison-free methods and tell you what you should better not do.
If you want a very tight lawn with short grass, then clover may not fit in well. If you aspire to more than a billiard cloth, then clover is certainly not bad for your lawn and you can also easily trim it if necessary.
Clover species, such as red or white clover, have special root nodules with which they bind nitrogen from the air. They need this to grow well and in doing so they also indirectly fertilize your grass. In fact, the plants are busy improving the soil. In addition, they make the lawn stronger, because the roots of clover go deep into the ground, unlike most grasses.
Clover has several advantages for your lawn. We will name a few:
- First of all, clover species are incredibly good for biodiversity in the garden . Good biodiversity ensures a strong garden. For example, pests have less chance and all flowers and vegetables are pollinated well.
- Because clover makes deep roots, it strengthens your soil. The nutrients that clover binds, eventually also end up in your soil, which also helps your other plants. Red clover was often sown as a green manure for this reason.
- Clover flowers are actually very beautiful and add color to your lawn, making it look friendlier.
Every plant tells you something about the condition of your soil. Clover often grows where there is a lack of nitrogen and where the moisture is 'average'. Because they bind nitrogen, this is added to the soil. In time, clover will disappear by itself, because the soil is no longer suitable. In all honesty, it must be said that this can take a while.
If you do decide to remove clover, or keep it under control, here are some ways to remove clover in a sustainable way:
- Pulling out clover is a great way to keep it under control. They do form long roots, so they may try to come up a few more times. By consistently pulling them out, the plants will give up.
- Is there already a lot of clover and do you want to get rid of it? Then you can also continue to mow those areas consistently, in combination with sufficient watering. Grass will then probably 'win' over the clover.
Clover spreads in all sorts of ways and it is inevitable that seeds will end up on your neat lawn at some point. Do you want to get rid of clover despite the positive aspects? Then you can use these methods:
- Inspect your lawn for clover. If you see young plants, you can remove them immediately by hand. This prevents them from developing their deep roots, which makes them more difficult to remove.
- Create a flower meadow , of which clover is a useful component.
- Embrace a (partly) wilder lawn, by mowing less and giving flowers more chance. By letting a part grow high, it is also less noticeable if clover is still on the mowed parts.
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Clover is often combated in lawns with all sorts of unnatural methods. Although this often seems harmless, it can have a major effect on your garden and actually encourage clover. We will give you a few examples.
Do you really not want clover in your lawn? Then it is sometimes recommended to feed with a lot of nitrogen. If the amount of nitrogen is 'too high' for clover, it will not establish itself there. Adding nitrogen-rich fertilizer may prevent clover, but such an enormous release will make your grass grow incredibly fast and other plants that also like nitrogen can have a great time: think of nettles and blackberries, for example.
By adding nitrogen to your lawn, your other plants can also be affected. The result can be that they develop a lot of leaves, but few flowers. Especially if you want to sow a (native) flower meadow or annual flowers, giving nitrogen-rich fertilizer is disastrous.
Adding lime will adjust the acidity of your soil. This may help to deal with clover (although it is a very hardy plant), but it will also upset your soil and other plants that cannot cope with the sudden change.
In addition, soil animals will not appreciate it if things suddenly change and can therefore decrease. These animals are essential to keep your soil airy, to spread nutrients and minerals and help you to combat the sometimes unwanted insect larvae such as leatherjackets and grubs .
If you are considering using chemicals or poisons, these are bad for clover, grass and all animal life in the garden (and also for humans). Most poisons kill the plant at the surface, but not the roots. The result is that the grass around the clover will probably die, but the clover will simply come back because it easily produces new shoots from its long roots.
The effect is that the soil underneath is 'reset' and also remains poisonous for plants and animals for a long time. The soil quality deteriorates, which is why you create a place where clover can thrive, but plants like horsetail also find 'bad' soil fantastic.
In fact, grass lawns are increasingly being replaced by (micro)clover lawns, because they form a very strong mat, can do well without moisture and also flower: this is pleasing to the eye and hungry pollinators.
