How to Plant a Clover Lawn—and Why You Should

A lawn visually complements a home and provides a soft, welcoming place to relax. However, homeowners looking for a more sustainable, lower-maintenance alternative to a turfgrass lawn may want to consider planting a clover lawn.

Find out why so many people are switching to clover lawns, plus how to plant a clover lawn.

Why You Should Plant a Clover Lawn

A clover lawn avoids many turfgrass negatives while closely duplicating the lush aesthetic of traditional turfgrass.

Turf's heavy dependence on water makes it a non-starter for many homeowners, especially in communities with water restrictions. An intermixed clover lawn requires far less water than a pure turf lawn.

Turfgrass grows rapidly and densely. While sometimes touted as a no-mow lawn, a clover lawn does need to be mowed, though less often than with a turfgrass lawn. Mowing clover reduces leaf size and helps it blend better with surrounding turfgrass.

Clover is strong enough to choke out weeds, eliminating the need for herbicides.

As a natural fertilizer, clover can fix nitrogen from the atmosphere—that is, it draws beneficial nitrogen from the air, so it requires almost no additional lawn fertilizer.

A clover lawn attracts pollinators like bees. Bees congregate on clover lawns, adding to the area's biodiversity. However, an increased bee population can be detrimental to residents with bee allergies or to children.

How to Plant a Clover Lawn

The best way to plant a clover lawn is to intermix it with turfgrass. All-clover lawns go bare in the dormant season, but when mixed with turfgrass, clover looks full and rich throughout the year.

1. Choose a time to plant: Plant the clover in spring or between late summer and early fall.
2. Dethatch the lawn: Remove the thick, mat-like thatch of dead grass, rhizomes, leaves, and other organic matter. Dethatch the lawn with a lawn rake, bow rake, or special dethatching rake.
3. Spread the clover seeds: Broadcast clover seeds across the lawn at about one pound of seeds per 1,000 square feet of lawn or as directed on the clover seed package. Use a seed spreader to ensure consistent distribution of the clover seeds.
4. Spread topsoil: Evenly distribute topsoil to cover the clover seeds, avoiding clumps of soil.
5. Water the seeds: Immediately water the clover seeds. The best garden hose to use is one that's light and easy to handle since it needs to cover the entire lawn.
6. Keep the seeds moist: Continue to water the clover seeds for another one to three weeks until the clover begins to sprout.
7. Mow the clover: Keep the clover lawn mowed to a height of about three to four inches.

Other Turfgrass Alternatives

While a clover lawn is an excellent alternative to traditional turfgrass, it's worth exploring options such as moss, ground covers, xeriscaping, or inorganic materials like gravel.

• Moss lawn: A moss lawn, a brilliant green and easy-to-maintain substitute for turfgrass, offers one advantage that many homeowners may find particularly attractive: it needs no mowing.
• Ground cover lawn: Consider a drought-tolerant ground cover like juniper or dymondia to reduce wasteful water consumption.
• Desert landscaping: Cacti, succulents, and flowering perennials paint vibrant purples and greens, rich browns, and terra cotta reds with desert landscaping or xeriscaping.
• Gravel and rocks: Inorganic materials like pea gravel and crushed gravel offer a sensible, low-maintenance substitute for turfgrass.