Clover lawn

Hi I planted a clover lawn last year. This year mass of leaves and flowers. I thought I would trim it to tidy it up today. After cutting it on my highest setting there is no clover to be seen and its just grass and weeds now. Will my clover grow back quickly? Or have I ruined it?

 

If you only cut the top off it should grow back.

 

Do you have any pics?

You mention lots of weeds. This would tell us something about the soil. This is relevant because clover tends to thrive in nitrogen poor soil. It's not very competitive so if the soil is nitrogen rich, other species will easily outperform the clover.

 

As far as I know clover is a nitrogen fixer so will encourage grass.

 

After its died off yes.

I've noticed over the years there's a cycle, the grass stops thriving, the clover takes hold. Clover thrives for a couple of years or so, grass starts thriving, clover struggles.

I suspect most people don't notice this because if they keep a lawn, they tend to look after as a lawn, so the clover never gets its chance. I notice it because I like clover and daisies, so I tend not to do much to my lawn other than cut it from time to time. I very rarely feed it.

 

I didn't know it had to die to release the nitrogen, I have noticed the nodules on the roots when I've weeded it out.

 

I'm not sure the clover has to die to relinquish it's nitrogen stores. I've never given any thought to what happens below the surface. I presume some of the older roots must start to decay, releasing nitrogen into the soil. I seem to remember a post somewhere on this forum about the science of it all, I think in relation to beans, but I can't remember who it was that explained it or what thread it was in.

 

I agree that normally you dig it in, but there are a few different types of clover and I'm not sure the connection between the stuff that grows normally in a lawn and the type you would use as a lawn.

 

Clover will come back, i've leave mine and the leaf and flower have grown with the grass 5-8 inches, some places have finnished so i've mown it off and yes it will come back next year you may get some regowth this year

Flowers have all most finnined


This next picture, the grass was mown about a week ago and you can already see new clower leafs coming back

 

I think it will depend upon the specific clover and how short you have mown it. Like many young plants, if you remove tip and all axial shoots, it will struggle to renew.
Mature plants of some varieties have a stolon stem from which it can produce new leaves, roots and flowers, and so survive a hard winter.
It may have shed seed from which it will reappear. It will struggle to co-exist with strong competitor plants and grasses. Agricultural cultivars are normally grazed to 70-80mm as a minimum.
The nitrogen nodules,once produced, are of use to soil organisms in plant symbiosis. These may be utilised by any plant so connected.

 

Last year my Clover lawn was amazing. However in peak summer it was like a wild meadow with grasses alot taller than my Clover and I felt bad having to cut it when my Clover was in full bloom. When I cut the Clover and grasses down there was no Clover underneath the taller Clover, I thought it would create a mass of leaves underneath and it would be lush and green. I have now put down micro Clover in order to have a green carpet under my Dutch Clover which grows tall. Still grass and weeds are out growing my Dutch Clover.

 

As clover 'fixes' nitrogen, gradually it makes the ground more favourable to grass, which then out competes the clover, eventually reducing it to almost none. Then the grass continues a little while til it depletes the nitrogen reserves in the soil, and slows down. Clover can now compete, and thrives, but in doing so gradually boosts the nitrogen reserves in the soil.

I'm not sure what you can do about it. I think it's just one of nature's cycles. But if you can find a way to maintain a clover rich lawn all the time, I'd be interested to know how.

 

Very interesting. I used to spend hours on hands and knees pulling out masses of clover. Now, being a lot older, the knees suffer, I can't really see the clover unless on top of it and from a distance it looks to me like I have the best "lawn" in the world - another plus for old(er) age.