What a clover lawn is: white clover vs microclover
Most clover lawns use white clover (Trifolium repens), also sold as Dutch white clover. It is a low, creeping perennial that spreads by runners. Penn State calls it one of the most common weeds of home lawns, and notes it does best in full sun and in lawns that get little fertilizer. Whether it is a weed or the point of the lawn is your choice; the RHS frames it the same way.
Microclover is a selection of white clover with smaller leaves and a slower, less aggressive habit (Illinois Extension); 'Pirouette' and 'Pipolina' are two named varieties. It was bred to grow with turfgrass, so it blends into a lawn instead of forming large patches. Its seed costs more and is harder to find in stores (Illinois Extension).
Clover lawn pros and cons
These are the points the extension services and garden bodies agree on, with where each one comes from.
| What the sources say | Source | |
|---|---|---|
| Pro: less fertilizer | Clover is a legume and fixes nitrogen, so it needs no nitrogen fertilizer and feeds the grass around it. | Iowa State, Purdue, RHS |
| Pro: stays green in dry spells | Drought tolerant and stays green when grass browns. It still needs watering in a long dry spell. | RHS; Tom Cook (Oregon State) via Ask Extension |
| Pro: pollinators | The flowers give nectar to bees and butterflies. | RHS, NC State |
| Pro: less mowing | A few mowings a year, or none; white clover tops out at about 5 to 6 inches. | This Old House, the Old Farmer's Almanac, Purdue |
| Con: bees and stings | Flowering can last for months, and the bees it draws can bother people using the lawn. | Purdue, the Almanac |
| Con: foot traffic | Expected to recover poorly from heavy use; a lawn of clover alone will not take traffic. | Purdue, DLF guide |
| Con: stains | Clothes pick up more grass stains on a pure clover lawn. | DLF guide |
| Con: short life | Not persistent enough to last more than a few years without overseeding; This Old House says two to three years. | Tom Cook via Ask Extension, This Old House, Illinois |
| Con: winter dieback | Top growth dies back in winter, which can leave bare spots and erosion. | Illinois, DLF guide, NC State |
| Con: weedkillers | Most broadleaf lawn herbicides kill it, so a clover lawn means no weed-and-feed. | Illinois, Penn State |
| Con: spreading and edges | Creeps into mulch beds, and you cannot keep a crisp edge along walks. | Purdue, DLF guide |
| Con: heat and shade (microclover) | Microclover does not like high heat and drought, or shade. | Illinois |
Pure clover or a clover and grass mix
Most of the sources say not to plant clover alone. NC State says clover is great mixed into a lawn but not realistic as the only plant. The DLF guide, from the breeder of the best-known microclover, does not recommend a new lawn of white clover only, partly because of winter dieback in the north. Purdue adds that clover does not form a very dense canopy.
So the realistic ideas above are examples 2, 5, 6 and 10: clover mixed into grass, clover where traffic is light, or a flowering clover edge around a grass lawn. A full clover lawn (example 1) looks lush in early summer, but expect thin spots in winter and reseeding every few years.
How much clover seed to use
Seed rates vary a lot from one source to the next: for white clover overseeded into a lawn, one source gives 2 ounces per 1,000 square feet and another gives half a pound. That is partly because some mean a few clover plants in the grass and others mean mostly clover. The table shows each rate with its source instead of one number.
| Use | Rate | Source |
|---|---|---|
| White clover overseeded into a lawn | About 2 oz per 1,000 sq ft (1.5 lb per 10,000 sq ft) | Ask Extension (Michigan question, 2022); the Almanac repeats 2 oz |
| White clover in a new grass seed mix | 5 to 10% of the grass seed weight | The Old Farmer's Almanac |
| A mostly clover lawn | About half a pound per 1,000 sq ft | This Old House |
| Microclover overseeded into grass | 1 lb per 1,000 sq ft (5 g per sq m) | DLF guide |
| Microclover in a new grass seeding | 5% of the total grass seed weight | DLF guide |
| Pure clover lawn, UK | 1.2 to 1.5 g per square metre, sown in spring | Agrigem (UK seed seller) |
Clover seed is tiny, so mixing it with sand or with the grass seed helps spread it evenly.
When to plant a clover lawn
Timing depends on where you live, and the sources do not agree on spring.
- North Carolina Piedmont (NC State): White and red clover in early fall, September 15 to October 15, or frost-seeded in February. Spring is too late there.
- Iowa (Iowa State): In spring once it warms up, or in late summer about two months before the first frost.
- Illinois (Illinois Extension, microclover): Any time from early spring to late summer.
- Michigan (Ask Extension): Overseed in spring or fall, in the sunny parts of the lawn.
- DLF guide (microclover): Best in early fall and in late spring to early summer; for a late summer sowing, about 6 weeks before the first hard frost.
- UK (Agrigem): Sow in spring.
How to plant and care for a clover lawn
- Sun: Penn State says white clover grows best in full sun. DLF asks for 4 hours of direct sun or 6 to 8 hours of filtered sun. Sources disagree on shade: This Old House says clover grows in sun and shade, while Illinois says microclover does poorly in shade.
- Soil: pH between 6.0 and 7.0 (the Almanac); clover can be shorter-lived on acid soil (Agrigem).
- Before overseeding: Mow the lawn close and remove thatch so the seed reaches the soil (Ask Extension, Michigan).
- Watering: Keep it moist until it is established, usually 2 to 3 weeks (DLF guide). The Almanac says about 10 days, or until a week after the seeds sprout.
- How fast: In one dog lawn, American Meadows reports sprouting within 10 days, green cover in about a month and the lawn grown in at two months.
- Mowing: Microclover can be mown as low as half an inch, or only once or twice a year (DLF guide). Mixed with tall fescue or bluegrass, DLF mows at 4.5 inches back to 3. This Old House waits for about 3 inches of growth before the first mow.
- Feeding and weeds: Clover itself needs no nitrogen (Purdue), though the DLF guide still recommends some nitrogen in spring and early summer to keep microclover at the share you want in a mix. Skip broadleaf weedkillers: most of them kill clover (Illinois).
- Reseeding: Plan to overseed every few years as the clover thins (Tom Cook via Ask Extension, This Old House).
Clover lawns in the UK
In the UK, clover in a lawn is usually discussed as keep-or-remove. The RHS covers white clover, red clover and other low pea-family plants that turn up in lawns, and sets out both sides: a lawn weed to some, a drought-tolerant, bee-friendly plant that needs no feeding to others. The RHS also says clover resists many selective lawn weedkillers, the opposite of the US advice above; UK products differ, so check the label.
For a new clover lawn, UK seed seller Agrigem gives 1.2 to 1.5 g per square metre sown in spring, a mowing height of about 8 to 10 cm for a clover and grass mix, and a warning that clover can be shorter-lived on acid soil. Examples 9 and 10 above show a small terraced back garden and a semi-detached front garden.
Is a clover lawn right for your yard?
- Good fit: A sunny lawn with light foot traffic, where you want to stop fertilizing, mow less and feed pollinators, and you do not mind some bees and a looser look.
- Use a mix instead: A family lawn with children and pets running on it, or a yard where you want a neat edge along the walk. Grass with a share of clover holds up better than clover alone.
- Think twice: Deep shade, very hot and dry summers without watering (for microclover), or a lawn you treat with broadleaf weedkiller.
- Try a small area first: A curb strip, a slope or a border along a walk, like examples 3, 6 and 7, shows how clover does in your yard before you convert the whole lawn.
How to try clover on a photo of your yard
- Take a photo of the lawn from where you would normally stand, in daylight, with the whole area in frame.
- Open the landscape tool, choose Custom, and paste one of the instructions below into the Custom Design Requirements box.
- Change what the lawn becomes (pure clover, a grass mix, a border) and what must stay, then generate.
- If it misses something, as several of our examples did, reword that part and run it again.
The picture shows the look, not how clover will grow in your soil and climate. Use the facts above for that.
Clover lawn instructions to paste into Custom mode
These are the exact instructions we used for the 10 examples above, in the same order (for examples 1, 2, 7 and 8, the reworded second version). In the landscape tool, choose Custom, paste one into the Custom Design Requirements box, then upload a photo of your yard. Swap in what you want the lawn to become and what must stay.
- Replace the entire grass lawn with a pure white clover lawn: the whole lawn area is covered edge to edge in dense low round three-part clover leaves, a lighter fresh green than grass, with hundreds of small round white clover flower heads scattered across it, no brown spots, no bare soil. Keep the house, shutters, driveway, foundation shrubs, sky and camera angle exactly the same.
- Replace the whole thin lawn with a thick dense lush deep green lawn with no bare patches and no worn lines, made of short grass with many tiny microclover leaves mixed evenly through it, freshly mown, no flowers. Keep the fence, patio, chairs, sky and camera angle exactly the same.
- Change ONLY the strip between the sidewalk and the curb: replace the dead grass with a low dense white clover groundcover in bloom with many small white flower heads. Keep the sidewalk, curb, street tree, street, house, car, sky and camera angle exactly the same.
- Change ONLY the lawn: replace the spotted grass and the muddy path with an even, dense, low green microclover lawn with tiny clover leaves, no flowers, no brown spots. Keep the chain-link fence, the dog house, the trees, the sky and the camera angle exactly the same.
- Change ONLY the lawn: turn the thin grass around the swing set into a dense low green clover lawn with a few white clover flowers, but keep a smaller worn bare dirt strip directly under the swings. Keep the swing set, slide, fence, sky and camera angle exactly the same.
- Change ONLY a strip of lawn about one meter wide on both sides of the front walk: make it a flowering clover border of white and pink clover in bloom with bees. Keep the rest of the grass lawn, the walk, the porch, the house, the bed, the sky and the camera angle exactly the same.
- Replace the thin grass and bare soil on the whole slope with a thick, green, continuous carpet of low white clover: lush green round three-part clover leaves covering every bit of the slope, with small round white clover flower heads scattered over it. No bare soil, no grey patches. Keep the stone retaining wall, the house, the sky and the camera angle exactly the same.
- Replace the entire grass lawn with a flowering bee lawn: the whole lawn is low and covered in hundreds of white clover flower heads, many small purple self-heal flowers and patches of pink creeping thyme in bloom mixed through short fine grass, like a low flowering meadow carpet. Keep the house, window, driveway, sky and camera angle exactly the same.
- Change ONLY the lawn: make it a fresh, even, low microleaf white clover lawn with tiny clover leaves and a few small white flowers. Keep the brick wall, the patio slabs, the shed, the sky and the camera angle exactly the same.
- Change ONLY the lawn: make it a grass and clover mix mown short along a curved mown path, with a longer margin of flowering white and red clover along the low wall. Keep the house, bay window, front wall, paved path, bins, sky and camera angle exactly the same.
Clover lawn questions
What is a clover lawn?
A lawn of white clover (Trifolium repens) or the smaller-leaved microclover, either alone or mixed into grass. Clover fixes its own nitrogen, stays green in dry spells and needs less mowing than grass.
What are the downsides of a clover lawn?
It recovers poorly from heavy foot traffic, stains clothes, draws bees while it flowers, dies back in winter and usually needs reseeding every few years. Most broadleaf lawn weedkillers kill it, and it creeps into flower beds (Purdue, Illinois, DLF guide, This Old House).
Is microclover better than white clover for a lawn?
For a lawn mixed with grass, usually yes: microclover has smaller leaves and spreads more slowly, so it blends into the grass (Illinois Extension). It costs more, is harder to find, and does poorly in shade and in hot, dry weather.
Can I have a lawn of only clover?
You can, but most sources advise against it. NC State says clover alone is not realistic, and the DLF guide does not recommend a new lawn of white clover only, partly because it dies back in winter. A mix of grass and clover holds up better.
How much clover seed do I need?
It depends on how much clover you want. For white clover overseeded into a lawn, Ask Extension gives about 2 oz per 1,000 sq ft; This Old House gives about half a pound per 1,000 sq ft for a mostly clover lawn; DLF gives 1 lb per 1,000 sq ft for microclover into existing grass.
When is the best time to plant clover?
It depends on your region. NC State says early fall (September 15 to October 15) in the North Carolina Piedmont, where spring is too late. Iowa State says spring or late summer, and Illinois says early spring to late summer for microclover.
Is a clover lawn good for dogs?
It can be. Seed seller American Meadows published one microclover lawn put in for dogs that sprouted within 10 days and grew in at two months, but that is one owner's story, not a trial. Clover still wears thin where a dog runs the same path, so a grass and clover mix is safer for an active dog.
Can I see a clover lawn on a photo of my own yard?
Yes. Upload a photo to the landscape tool, choose Custom, and describe the lawn you want: pure clover, a grass and clover mix or a flowering border, and what must stay. The result is a picture for planning, not a growing forecast.
Is the clover lawn tool free?
You need an account, and it is free: 1 free render with a free account, and free renders carry a watermark. A paid plan gives you more renders and removes the watermark.
Sources for the clover lawn facts
- Penn State Extension, Lawn and Turfgrass Weeds: White Clover
- University of Illinois Extension, Microclovers making a comeback (2022)
- Iowa State University Extension, Dutch White Clover
- Purdue University Turf Program, Using Clover for Lawns
- NC State Extension (Lee County), Clover over and over: the reality of clover lawns (2024)
- Ask Extension, overseeding a lawn with clover (Michigan, 2022)
- Ask Extension, clover lawns (answer by Tom Cook, Oregon State, 2024)
- DLF, Microclover Management Guide (PDF, 2024)
- RHS, Clover in lawns
- The Old Farmer's Almanac, clover lawns
- This Old House, Clover Lawn guide
- Agrigem (UK), How to grow a clover lawn
- American Meadows, a microclover dog lawn before and after (seller case study)




















