Killin' clover!

[Pilot]

Was told a few years ago that the best time to kill clover in a lawn was in the fall. Had some success in the spring by mixing 2,4-D at about double strength & using a sticker, but early this month (September) I tried normal strength. Great results.

Fall is a good time to kill many plants as they are translocating nutrients down to the roots in the fall. Roundup on blackberries and Scotch broom in the fall works great. So the same reasoning works with clover, too!

 

[ToadHill]

I don't know why you'd want to kill clover. It adds nitrogen to the soil and nitrogen is just what the grass loves.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Funny thread...I just threw down 20 lbs of sweet red clover.
It will be 2 weeks this Saturday since I have seen it and hope
that it's popped by now. That is if it didn't wash away, Ike came by...

 

[RobJ]

Down south the clover gets going strong when it gets cooler and it never dies out then. It'll either die out or get dormant in the long dry summers we usually have.

So when it gets active is the best time to spray it.

Clover may be good for the ground, but it can take over and you have no grass left!!

 

[mark.r]

I don't know why you'd want to kill clover. It adds nitrogen to the soil and nitrogen is just what the grass loves.

Know Your Clover

Know Your Clover
Most of these flowering legumes are fine for grazing, except for the alsike clover.

Your horse enjoys grazing a variety of grasses and legumes.

Most horses love the tangy taste of clover, and the legume adds mineral diversity to pastures. But clover can also cause slobbers, diarrhea and fatal toxic reactions.

Slobbers: Grazing clover can cause excessive salivation, due to the irritating chemical slaframine, produced by a clover fungus. Its usually not harmful, and red clover is most commonly affected. If the horse eats a large amount of the diseased clover, some diarrhea may result. The toxin is also present in infected clover hay but disappears with storage. Slobbers is a problem in spring and summer.

Sometimes it easier to just get rid of it . . . or not plant it at all.

 

[schmism]

i was going to go to war with my clover....any broadleaf weed spray will work well on it while leaving the grass intact.

but that was untill i found by bee's loved it... now it stays... i like honey more than a "perfect" lawn

 

[Tig]

The only issue I ever had with clover was bees and small children. Other than that I like it in the lawn. It's soft on the feet, green and very hardy.

 

[jinjimbob]

I planted a lot of clover this year, the deer love it.

 

[Pilot]

I have 2 reasons to get rid of the clover:

1. The bees love it and I am allergic to bee stings, seriously allergic.

2. In this area, unless you water heavily, the grass dries and turns brown in the summer. Only the weeds, including the clover stay green, leaving only the weeds to mow. Without weeds, no mowing from about mid July until mid September!

Sure it adds nitrogen, but I don't see the grass doing any better next to the clover.

 

[Dargo]

I always spray for clover twice a year. It is an invasive weed that is in the vine family. It takes over a lawn and is unsightly. Unfortunately it is also very hearty.

 

[charlz]

I find 2,4,d slows it down some but doesn't kill it, at least for white clover in the lawn. What does work is 'Wipe Out' by Greenlight, it has 3 or 4 different active ingredients. Takes a while but it sure kills it off.

Same reasons for me, kids and bee's. I'd rather have them in the gardens or the hayfield anyway

 

[Tig]

Pilot, I can relate to those two reasons. I don't have bee alergies but I do remember child hood bee stings in the clover.
A dry August is the only time that weeds bother me, although it's dandy lions that catch my eye.

 

[RonMar]

The first Dandelions in the spring usually remind me I need to spool up the sprayer and lay down some 2-4D... Just used some weed-be-gone to spot spray some clover a few days ago. It is starting to take over in my yard also.

 

[Skerby]

same here, i have it in my rear yard and want to kill it and replace with a better lawn... i remember getting stings on my feet as a child running over clover.. also, i don't need the competition for bees when my apple trees need pollination next year...

 

[Pilot]

Ron,

I haven't found Weed-B-Gone to be very effective except when used as Money-B-Gone. Does it really work for you?

I go to the feed store & buy a 2 1/2 gallon jug of generic 2,4-D, which is what Weed B Gone is, and add a sticking agent and go to town. 2,4-D comes in different formulations and some may be better than Weed-B-Gone. Weedmaster and Weedar 64 have some additional ingredients which may help.

 

[Egon]

[QUOTEi don't need the competition for bees when my apple trees need pollination next year...][/QUOTE]

After the apple trees are finished blooming do the bees go into hibernation for the rest of the summer or where do they go and what do they exist on???