Clover

Category: wildflowers

Growing

  • 📍 Zone: 3-10
  • 🌞 Sun: Full sun to partial shade
  • 💧 Water: Moderate; tolerates some drought once established
  • 🌱 Soil: Prefers well-drained, fertile soil; adapts to poor soils and fixes nitrogen

Planting

  • 📏 Height: 4-20 inches (varies by species and conditions)
  • 📏 Spacing: Broadcast for ground cover; thin to 4-6 inches if growing in patches
  • 📅 When To Plant: Early spring or fall (cooler temps encourage establishment)
  • 🌱 Propagation: Primarily by seed; spreads by creeping stems (especially white clover)
  • ⬇️ Depth: Surface sow or lightly cover (~1/8 inch)
  • 🤝 Companion:
    • 0: Fruit trees
    • 1: Vegetable gardens (improves soil nitrogen)
    • 2: Corn
    • 3: Squash
  • 🚫 Avoid Planting Near:

    Care & Maintenance

    • ✂️ Pruning: Mow or trim to encourage fresh growth or control spread
    • 🪢 Staking Or Support: None required
    • ❄️ Overwintering: Perennial; tolerates winter well and regrows in spring

    Harvesting & Usage

    • ⏰ When To Harvest: Flowers: mid to late spring when fully open; Leaves: any time young and tender
    • ✋ How To Harvest: Pinch or snip flowers and leaves by hand or with scissors
    • 🥫 Preservation: Dry flowers and leaves for tea or medicinal use; store in airtight container
    • ⚠️ Edible Or Toxic: Edible in moderation; avoid consumption of moldy clover or large quantities (may cause bloating in livestock)
    • 🍴 Culinary: Flowers and young leaves can be added to salads, teas, or used to make clover jelly
    • 💊 Medicinal:
      • Blood Purifier & Detoxifier: Red clover is traditionally used to support detoxification and as a gentle blood purifier.
      • Hormonal Support: Contains phytoestrogens; used in folk remedies to ease menopausal symptoms.
      • Respiratory Health: Historically used as an expectorant for coughs and bronchial conditions.
      • Skin Soothing: Infusions applied topically for minor skin irritations or rashes.
    • 🌸 Aromatic: Mildly sweet scent, especially when flowering; attractive to bees and pleasant in dried arrangements

    Ecological Info

    • 🐝 Pollinators:
      • 0: Bees (especially bumblebees and honeybees)
      • 1: Butterflies
    • 🦌 Wildlife Resistance: Often grazed by rabbits, deer, and livestock; not resistant
    • 🌿 Nitrogen Fixer: