Clover is more common in North American countries because it used to be mixed with grass seeds intentionally to control weed growth and fix nitrogen in the soil.
But that’s not the only reason why do you have so much clover in your lawn. Some natural factors and lawn caring mistakes from your end are responsible to have clovers too.
Preventing clover growth is way much simpler than removing clovers from your lawn. And to prevent clovers, you should know why they are on your lawn in the first place.
Why Does My Lawn Have So Much Clover?
Despite having so many benefits of clovers, you may not want them to be on your lawn. That’s what keeps you asking this question, right?
Well, there are clovers on the lawn because of the following reasons:
- Lack of Nitrogen in Soil
When the last time you tested your soil? This is important to know the nitrogen level in the soil.
If the soil of your lawn is deprived of sufficient nitrogen, the soil will invite the clovers to grow there. As you may know, clovers are a natural nitrogen fixture!
So, clovers will take root in the nitrogen-deficient soil eventually. You need better aeration and seeding to restore the nitrogen balance in the soil.
- Overwatering Attracts Clover
In my experience, overwatering is a very common scenario in lawns owned by experienced homeowners. But they don’t know that overwatering can deprive their lawn soil of nitrogen.
Inadvertently this happens too due to heavy rainfall. If you have an overlapping sprinkler system installed, that will also cause overwatering.
Such excess water will draw the nitrogen away from the soil. Nitrogen-deprived soil becomes very attractive to the clovers. You need to adjust the watering schedule to avoid overwatering!
- Underwatering
Just like overwatering, underwatering is another reason why there are clovers in your lawn. In order to survive, your lawn grass needs a decent amount of water.
Without sufficient water, your lawn grass will struggle to survive. This is the situation when weeds like dandelions and clovers take the sneaky chance to take over the lawn.
You can’t overwater it, but you must regularly water your lawn to avoid such a situation.
- Imbalanced Soil pH Level
Both the low and high pH level of your lawn soil attracts clovers to grow. Clovers and other weeds don’t need the right amount of pH level to grow but your lawn grass does.
Too high or too low a pH level disrupts the lawn grass growth and your favorite grass finds it hard to survive. That’s when clovers take the chance.
So, what’s the right amount of pH level?
You should be good if your soil pH balance is between 6.5 to 7.0.
- Mowing Too Low
If you mow too short, the clovers get the chance to sprout. Many people love to mow short because that way their lawns look beautiful.
But doing so also attracts clovers to take over your lawn. You see, when you mow a little higher, your lawn grass will have a better chance to fight clovers.
- You Have a Cool Weather
Cool-weather is another reason why you have clover issues on your lawn. Because cool weather is a must for the clover to take root in the lawn.
This is why it happens…
If you live in an area where it’s experiencing a cool temperature, the soil microbes of your lawn will take more time to become active and provide nitrogen to your lawn grass.
This lack of activities gives the clovers a significant advantage to grow since they don’t need any nitrogen in the first place like your lawn grass!
- Clovers Can Grow Due To Excess Sunlight
Clovers can’t grow without direct access to the sunlight. Remember, they are summer-loving weeds.
So, should you shade the entire lawn to discourage clovers?
No! If clovers grow on some spots of your lawn, you can create shades by adding some bushes or dense trees. That will significantly minimize the chances of the clover roots sprouting.
The Origin of Clovers
Now that you know why there is clover in your lawn, let’s check out its origin. I will simply talk about how it’s become so common in the U.S.
You see, prior to the 1950s, homeowners used to mix clover seeds with their grass seeds on purpose. They did not have any chemically enriched weed killer to control the weeds.
During the 40s and 50s, clover was a common element in the lawn because of its ability to pull nitrogen from the air.
Did you know, there were no residential herbicides up until 1945? So, what was the mechanism to control weeds?
Clover was the only natural weed killer back then and it was already famous to increase soil fertility. So, they used to grow clovers on their lawns on purpose to have low-maintenance lawns!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Having clover on the lawn is a sign of either fertile soil or poor soil that is about to get fertile. To understand whether it’s doing any good or bad, you need to check your lawn grass or other plants growing around it.
Having poor soil compaction in the lawn is a reason why your grass is full of clover. Another reason is the low pH level of the soil whereas your lawn grass needs pH level of around 6.5 – 7.0.
Yes, as long as they don’t cause any damages to the lawn grass and create bare patches. You see, your lawn grass can be benefitted from the clovers as clovers can add nitrogen to the soil from the air naturally.
Final Thoughts
Look…you are not alone. I used to ask myself why do I have so much clover in my lawn. It was ruining my lawn! I learned the hard way. But now you know too.
There are plenty of reasons to have them on your lawn. But if you don’t like them, taking preventive measures should not be difficult for you, right?
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