Are you planning to fill your garden or yard with green cover? You may be wondering about clover vs. grass yard, but they have their own functions.
Traditionally, farmers considered clovers a folder for livestock, but later, it was known to be invasive due to their rapid spread.
So, if you own a lawn and looking for a suitable ground cover or are about to switch from grass to clover lawn, this article will help you to choose the perfect option.
Popular Types Of Clover For Lawns
All clover varieties bear a similar appearance, bearing three petals. The difference in the size of plants and flower color separates them from each other.
You can plant single clover species to beautify your lawn as an excellent ground cover, but mixing different species for additional charm is always better.
1. White Clover
White clovers are low-maintenance and rapid-growing varieties that grow 4-8 inches tall, beautifying your garden with white flowers.
This variety can grow well in poor soil and offers you to grow them as a perennial cover crop, erosion control, and ground cover.
They look stunning when paired with Kentucky bluegrass, Bermuda grass, or red clover and reseed themselves, providing lush covering.
2. Red Clover
Red clover bears incredible reddish-purple blossoms blessing you with its astonishing beauty and amazing health benefits.
This variety grows taller than white clover, with a height ranging from 6 inches to 24 inches, and is often paired with white clover, sweet clover, etc.
3. Microclover
Microclover is the dwarf clover variety bearing small leaves and little flowers and grows smaller, looking less clumpy than other varieties.
This variety has a small size and range of 4-6 inches, and it pairs best with Kentucky bluegrass or tall fescue.
Is Clover Good or Bad in Your Yard?
Clovers can be the best pairs for grasses on your lawn due to their ability to release nitrogen and remain green even in the hottest temperature.
However, they can be extremely invasive and compete with other plants for nutrients slacking their growth in your garden.
Pros of Clover
Clovers are the easiest, most convenient, and eco-friendly idea for landscaping if you love greenery in your lawn.
- Clovers are low-maintenance plants that remain green for a whole summer requiring less water.
- You need not mow your yard with clovers to make it tidy due to their small size.
- Various pollinators are attracted to pretty blossoms of clovers.
- Yards with clover covers are an excellent choice if you love to walk barefoot in your garden.
- Planting clovers is a cost-effective way to remove unwanted weeds from your garden.
- This low-maintenance plant grows well in poor soil and can make its own fertilizer too.
Cons of Clover
Although clover has many advantages, planting it with many plants like Star jasmine and flowerbeds may attract snakes to your lawn. Here are a few disadvantages of clovers.
- Bees easily get attracted to clovers which may be an issue if you are allergic to their stings.
- If you want to grow clovers singly, they may need 2-3 times of reseeding to maintain their evenness.
- Clovers can’t handle foot trafficking and aren’t durable if you use the yard as a playground.
- Compared to grasses, clovers may cause your clothes to look patchy as the leaves destroy easily.
Is Clover Better Than Grass? [Clover Vs Grass Yard]
Clovers are excellent ground cover other than grasses if you are into a pretty ground cover full of beautiful blossoms.
However, they may be the bad choice if your lawn faces lots of foot trafficking. Grasses can tolerate huge commotion, and you can’t tear them down easily.
Although grasses are hardy, they aren’t as effective as clovers in removing weeds and are more expensive than clovers.
Using grasses instead of clover will help your lawn look tidier and playground-friendly. But grasses don’t have the ability to aerate the soil as clovers.
Moreover, you won’t have to worry about herbicides and pesticides for clover lawns, but weeds and pests easily invade your grass lawn.
From Editorial Team
Conclusion!
Clover as a ground cover is excellent for attracting pollinators and beautifying your garden with colorful blossoms, but it’s not more durable than a grass lawn.
To make your lawn beautiful and durable at once with clover ground cover, mix 15-20% clover seeds with 80% grass seeds before sowing.
Doing this will make your lawn tolerable and beautiful, with no need to reseed the clover seeds from time to time.