Is A Clover Lawn Worth The Trade Off? What You Should Know Before Planting

If you're tired of maintaining a traditional turfgrass lawn, you've probably stumbled across clover when looking for the best grass alternatives to keep your yard looking beautiful without as much work and resources. Sometimes treated like a weed, clover can actually be a great lawn replacement because it's low maintenance and naturally stays short. As a nitrogen-fixer, clover enriches the soil with this nutrient, which can make it a great neighbor for nitrogen-hungry species, like grass or vegetables.

White clover (Trifolium repens), the species most commonly planted in clover lawns, can provide up to 125 pounds of nitrogen per acre. That same quality also makes it a great option for nutrient-poor soil where your turfgrass might be struggling to survive without fertilizer. However, it's not the right choice for every yard, and there are important factors to consider before replacing your grass with clover. For example, while it tolerates moderate foot traffic, heavy use — such as dogs running or kids playing sports — can leave the lawn patchy.

Those who like a tidier, more manicured look will still have to mow a clover lawn to keep it short. Even microclover varieties can reach heights of around six inches if left unmowed and will look more like a meadow than a tidy, uniform-height grass lawn. Most importantly, clover may not be the best option for every climate and isn't always the most environmentally friendly choice

While it's been touted as drought-tolerant, clover definitely prefers moisture and doesn't tolerate both heat and dry conditions at the same time very well. That means you could end up with a thin, dead lawn during the hottest part of summer without irrigation. It grows best in temperatures ranging from 50 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit, a range that makes it suitable for much of the United States. However, the southernmost parts of the country, where summer temperatures are regularly above 85 degrees, will have a hard time keeping their all-clover lawn looking healthy throughout the hot season. Extra watering may help, but that defeats the purpose of switching to clover for a low-input alternative to turfgrass.

If you are in a climate like this, mixing clover with your existing grass might be better than switching to a monoculture lawn. You can fix patchy spots in your lawn by overseeding them with clover, and its nitrogen-fixing capabilities will boost the nutrients available for your remaining grass. This combo will keep the entire lawn looking healthier and reduce the need for fertilizer and water –- all without leaving your yard bare and dead during the hottest or driest parts of summer.

If your main motivator for switching to a clover lawn is to help the environment, there are better options. White clover is not native to the United States. While it tolerates a wide range of soil, moisture, and light conditions, a species native to your region will be better suited to your climate and more beneficial to the local ecosystem.

If your goal is to use less water and fertilizer, you can simply stop applying them to your existing lawn. If the climate is so dry that your grass would die or go into early dormancy without irrigation, it's probably too dry for clover, too. A better option might be to shrink your lawn by replacing parts of it with flowers and shrubs that are native to your region. That way, you still have some recreational space for your pets or kids, but keeping the smaller lawn irrigated won't use up as much water as it does now.

If it's pollinators you're looking to entice, clover flowers support at least 56 native bee species, but many other flowers provide nectar as well. Plus, the U.S. is home to over 4,000 species of native bees, not to mention butterflies and other pollinators. A better option here would be a mix of native flowering groundcovers like common violets (Viola sororia), wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana), and Canada anemone (Anemone canadensis), along with some native grasses like buffalo grass (Bouteloua dactyloides) or blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis).