Help with Clover control on Lawn

Joined
Jun 29, 2022
Messages
684
Reaction score
202
Location
Ayrshire
Hardiness Zone
9b
Country
United Kingdom
I am pretty much a newbie to gardening, so bear with me...

I have recently moved into a new property and have a 100m2 lawn which was full of weeds. I have painstakingly hand removed the bigger weeds, but now the lawn is heavily covered in clover.

At this time of year, what would be the recommended steps? I was thinking about using a lawn feed (with weed killer) but having read some reviews, this is maybe not ideal for clover.

Any help or tips would be great!
Have you considered keeping the clover?

When I moved into my house I used to use weed killer and feed twice a year trying to keep the clover under control. It was a thankless task. However, since learning how good the clover is for the soil and pollinators I started encouraging it. My lawn is now covered in clover and it looks great - stays green all summer and between cuts masses of lovely, fluffy white flowers covered in bees.

Of course, a lot depends upon your style of garden - if it's very formal and prim it probably wouldn't work.
 
Joined
Apr 14, 2015
Messages
3,665
Reaction score
2,986
Location
Inverness-shire, Scotland
Hardiness Zone
8a
Country
United Kingdom
Welcome Linford. :)

It's too late in the year to feed lawns but down in Essex (I'm Essex reared) you will get away with a lawn weed killer if used as soon as possible. The lawn can then rest over winter and be tackled again next spring if necessary. I find Weedol liquid killer works well particularly for clover. You may be prefer to use the granular form but that will need to be spread evenly and then watered in. Weedol will take two to six weeks to kill weeds.

Edit: Follow the instructions and don't be tempted to overdose as it will burn the lawn.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Feb 13, 2021
Messages
3,406
Reaction score
2,114
Country
United Kingdom
Mostly it looks nothing like clover to me. Clover is a trefoil, three leaflets to each leaf, and a whitish marking that runs across the leaf. I can see a bit of clover in the lower left of the third picture down, just below the buttercup. Mostly it looks more like some sort of daisy to me. Long white roots, daisy; trailing side shoots starting to root and spread, clover.
I used to deal with such things with a wire rake, but I am getting old and have bought myself a mechanical one. It has to be done regularly, but the grass slides through and the broad leaves and trailers get ripped up. I probably don't get such a perfect finish, but it avoids chemicals and takes out any thatch at the same time. I pick it up with the mower after and it is all grist to the compost heap.
 
Joined
May 5, 2018
Messages
248
Reaction score
309
Location
Kingsport, TN
Hardiness Zone
7A
Country
United States
Clover has many wonderful properties, but I also am trying to get rid of it because my grandchildren get stung by the bees. I love the bees too, but I love my grandchildren more. We have pollinator gardens on our property because we love the hummingbirds, bees, and other fascinating bugs that show up for the party. We get wasps, hornets, assassin bugs, snakes, spiders, and others. I am putting together a collage of photos of all of our visitors to share with you all.

Be that as it may, I have also read great things about Tenacity. In fact, I already bought some but I have a large yard and will need a pull-behind electric fertilizer for my tractor to complete the project. I really want to have a lawn free of weeds. I live in Zone 7B (I think), and so it's already getting cool at night, so I need to find out about the timing of using Tenacity. I wish my grass grew as well as my weeds do.
 
Joined
Oct 8, 2017
Messages
6,849
Reaction score
5,029
Location
Birmingham, AL USA
Hardiness Zone
8a
Country
United States
A big problem with spraying chemicals is that it removes competition from weeds that can drink what you are spraying. In fact they will invite their friends. Then to be rid of them you end up crawling up the nasty chemical ladder until you find solutions for things like virginia button weed, which imo belongs in a devils' garden with trifoliate orange.
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
26,588
Messages
256,641
Members
13,262
Latest member
mahnoor1

Latest Threads

Top