White clover ∗ Fight in the lawn or sow in the bed

Characteristics

• Scientific name: Trifolium repens
• Family: Legumes (Fabaceae)
• Growth type: perennial, herbaceous plant
• Occurrence: Meadows, lawns, roadsides
• Growth height: 5 cm to 20 cm
• Leaf: threefold pinnate
• Flower: heads
• Flowering period: May to October
• Fruit: legume
• Special feature: edible
• Root: taproot
• Use: natural garden, agriculture, medicinal plant

blossom

From May to October, spherical flower heads tower over the creeping, leafy stems. An inflorescence stem stretches up to 30 centimeters towards the sky. The spherical inflorescences are made up of up to 80 hermaphroditic individual flowers. Each individual flower protects pollen and nectar with a folding mechanism. Single blooms that have faded tend towards the ground, giving the head a disheveled appearance.

During the White clover flowering season it smells seductively of nectar. This attracts numerous insects. Preferred candidates for pollination are wild bees, honey bees and bumblebees. It is above all stinging chimneys that can overcome the folding mechanism of a white clover flower. As a reward for the onward transport of pollen, the bees can help themselves to the rich nectar buffet. in the bee friendly garden white clover is therefore a welcome guest.

fruit

Pollinated white clover flowers turn into tiny legumes with these properties:

• shape: oblong, flattened with razor-thin wall.
• fruit content: 3 to 4 seeds, clearly constricted.
• white clover seeds: 1 mm to 3 mm small, globose to kidney-shaped, orange-yellow or sulphur-yellow.
• fruit ripening: August to October

In the fall, the mature pods burst open, sending out seeds in all directions. The wind and numerous animals to which the seed sticks are responsible for the spread in meadows, on lawns and along roadsides.

root

White clover drives a long taproot into the ground and does not form underground suckers. Trifolium repens is popularly known as creeping clover because the leafy stems crawl above ground. The shoots reach a length of up to 40 centimeters and root at the nodes in the ground. As a typical creeping hemicryptophyte, white clover forms its outlasting buds on the surface of the earth as a basis for growth over several years.

Special features worth knowing shape root growth and make white clover a natural treasure. With nodule bacteria, white clover roots maintain a close community as a green win-win symbiosis. The nodule bacteria use the roots as a habitat. In return, the bacteria process elementary atmospheric nitrogen and turn it into plant-available nitrogen, the engine of growth. By plowing under white clover roots, the soil is later sufficiently supplied with the vital nutrient.

Sheet

Every child knows the leaves of white clover. Who hasn't counted the little leaflets in the hope of a four-fold leaf as a symbol of good luck? The following botanical features form the prosaic framework of magical meaning:

• leaf shape: stalked, threefold fingered, ovate
• petiole: 10 cm to 20 cm long
• leaflets: 1 cm to 4 cm long and twice as wide
• leaf edge: finely toothed
• arrangement: alternate on lying shoot axis

Finding fourfold white clover leaves in meadows or along roadsides is very rare and a real stroke of luck. In nurseries, special four-leaf cultivars are grown as commodities. Offered at the turn of the year lucky clover (Oxalis tetraphylla) naturally thrives with four-fold leaflets.

use

Creeping clover is well on its way to shaking off its bad reputation as a lawn weed. Natural hobby gardeners, farmers, beekeepers and healers appreciate the positive characteristics of white clover. The following table provides a representative overview of popular uses:

In the garden, white clover supplies the soil with nitrogen, is hardwearing, rich in nectar and a feast for the eyes with variegated ornamental varieties. In agriculture, white clover is grown as a nutritious fodder crop and as a soil-improving cover crop. Edible leaves and flowers are very popular as tasty wild vegetables. Prepared as a tea, white clover is useful as a natural remedy. Lately you need white clover as soil activator do not necessarily plant and laboriously plow under. How to make your natural garden easy with white clover fertilize, find out in this video:

Fertilize with white clover

plant white clover

In the hobby garden, white clover is used sowing cultivated. This works on a large scale green manure or lawn substitute effortlessly. Locally limited, you can easily master direct sowing in the vegetable patch as a cover and in the flower bed as a bee pasture. When, how and where to sow white clover seeds, read here:

sowing

White clover seeds germinate at temperatures just above freezing. The time window for sowing opens in March and only closes in late summer. How to skillfully sow white clover:

1. Remove weeds from the seedbed, rake in fine-grained soil several times rake straighten
2. Spread seed widely (3 g/m²) or sow at a row spacing of 20 cm
3. Work in the light germs 0.5 cm to 1 cm deep or sieve over them
4. Press down the soil, either with your hands, with wooden boards or a lawn roller
5. watering with lawn sprinkler(€32.00 at Amazon*) or jug ​​with watering bar
6. Keep the surface slightly moist until it emerges

A protective net fends off uninvited guests who want to grab the seeds or seedlings. For ornamental use, separate the strongest seedlings 10cm to 20cm apart.

Location

At this location, white clover demonstrates its many advantages:

• Sunny to semi-shady location, ideally humid and cool to 25° Celsius.
• normal garden floor, preferably loamy, nutrient-rich soil, calcareous, fresh to moist.
• Exclusion criteria: light sandy soil, acidic pH below 5.5 and persistent waterlogging.

Important to note is the right one crop rotation. White clover is incompatible with itself and other legumes. For this reason, a cultivation break of five to six years is inserted between sowing.

digression

White clover versus red clover

Cultivate white clover

White clover is very easy to care for. Regular watering during dry periods is important. The roots on the creeping shoots cannot withstand a longer period of drought. Supplementary nutrient supply is advantageous in poor locations. Fertilize white clover in March with ripe, sifted compost soil. Do not rake in the manure, instead shower the clover area with water. As an organic liquid fertilizer, a shower of nettle manure gets growth going.

Combat white clover in the lawn

Creeping clover can become very annoying. In fact, Trifolium repens is one of the most common lawn weeds. If the hobby gardener comes along with the lawn mower, the low-lying shoots simply duck away under the rotating blades. Read the best tips on how to know hereclover in the lawn fight successfully without poison:

• White clover nests with weeder or hand scarifier remove from the lawn, in the gaps lawn seedoverseed.
• In the case of large-scale infestation, scarify and fertilize the lawn twice a year.

The trend is a change from uniform lawns to natural wildflower meadows where life pulsates. More and more hobby gardeners save themselves the time-consuming process lawn care and give a warm welcome to white clover, red clover, daisies or dandelion.

Popular Varieties

In addition to the original species Trifolium repens, the trade has various white clover subspecies and decorative varieties available as seeds:

• Trifolium repens 'Quadrifolium Purpureum': Four-leaved variety with purple-white flowers from May, 30-60 cm high.
• Lesser white clover (Trifolium repens ssp. prostratum): the ideal, extra hard-wearing white clover variety as a lawn substitute.
• Bianca: traditional variety, medium leaf size, particularly hardy and high-yielding.
• Liflex: Earliest white clover variety with high turf density, good tread resistance, medium leaf size.
• Grasslands Huia: frost-resistant green manure variety from Kiepenkerl, soil-penetrating and easy to care for.

Microclover is causing a sensation on the seed market for an evergreen lawn with white clover.

FAQ

Is white clover edible?

All parts of the white clover plant are edible except for the roots. From June to September you can harvest the flowers as an ingredient for salads and vegetable dishes. Young shoots and tender leaves spice up cold and warm dishes. White clover seeds harvested in August and September are excellent for processing into flour. Raw food fans germinate the seeds as sprouts for a vitamin-packed treat. White clover flowers taste mildly sweet, leaves and shoots are reminiscent of the aroma of peas, corn and lamb's lettuce.

How to remove white clover from the lawn?

In the early stages, white clover still appears selectively on the lawn. You can remove these clover nests with a weed puller or hand scarifier. You can repair the resulting gaps with lawn seeds or pieces of rolled turf. Fight dominant white clover infestation in the lawn with perseverance. Scarify and fertilize the lawn at least twice a year.

When is the best time to sow white clover?

White clover seeds germinate at a temperature of 3° Celsius. The best time for sowing is therefore in March and April for an early flowering period from May. The time window remains open until August/September for direct sowing in the bed as green manure, lawn replacement or bee pasture. You can sow ornamental varieties for cultivation in tubs or flower cards on the windowsill as early as February.

How long can white clover seeds germinate?

For white clover seeds from specialist retailers, the expiry date can be found on the packaging. Self-collected white clover seeds remain germinable for many years as long as you keep the seeds in a dark and dry place. Experienced hobby gardeners report that after more than 20 years the seeds germinated happily within a few days. Red clover is even certified to have a germination capacity of up to 100 years.