Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)

Cool Season

Red clover is a short lived perennial. It is a succulent upright plant. Grows best with higher precipitation and does not tolerate much salinity. It competes well in a blend. Can reseed itself, so must be managed to reduce reseeding.

Seeds/pound: 270,000 Seed/sq ft/pound of seed: 7.4

Uses:

  • Nitrogen builder
  • Silage source
  • Intercropping
  • Erosion control
  • Weed suppression

Strengths:

  • Easy to establish
  • Can get multiple years out of one seeding
  • Fixes decent amount of nitrogen

Concerns:

Relatively low drought tolerance, bloat concern, can reseed itself.

Grazing:

Can be grazed. Caution to monitor bloat.

Hay:

Succulent stems can be hard to dry down. Better suited to silage or wrapped bales.

Mycorrhizal support? Yes