When you notice clovers arrival in your lawn, it’s telling you something very important about your lawns health. Once we begin seeing clover, you may also notice that your lawn starts to turn yellow or brown in colour or overall looking a little worse for wear. Don’t worry too much, you’re about to get an insight on how to get rid of and prevent clover in the future.
What is clover?
The most common variety of clover infesting our lawns is white clover or Trifolium repens. It is a perennial weed that has stems up to 30cm long and has the ability to spread by rooting at each node. Killing clover in your lawn can be easy; however, killing their seeds is not. Clover seeds can survive the highest and lowest temperatures and can stay dormant for years before germinating.
How to manage clover
Eradicating clover begins with a healthy lawn. Clover will grow in areas of low nitrogen so making sure your lawn is well fertilised will not only help the overall appearance and health of your lawn, it will also make the soil less appealing to clover. You should begin implementing a regular fertilising program which should be enough to help keep the lawn in good health and keep nitrogen levels high enough in the soil that clover will not take over again.
Hand pulling is an organic way to deal with clover. It generally grows in clumps so you can grab handfuls, whilst making sure you’re pulling out as much of the root system as possible, preventing regrowth.
Using a herbicide is also a common way to get rid of clover, especially in larger areas. Products including the chemicals dicamba and/or MCPA, such as Weed & Feed, are absorbed by the leaf, down through all roots of the clover. Keep in mind that dicamba can damage tree and shrub roots so apply carefully.
Removing clover from lawns can be a bit tricky but can be done with a bit of persistence and patience
If you have tried these solutions and are still having issues, please give our friendly staff a call on 08 8577 8826 or send through pictures to our email at office@theturffarm.com.au and we will be happy to guide you through your lawn issues and help you to achieve a weed free lawn you will love!
