The Best Clover to use?

[Ben Glantz]

There are a ton of clovers out there. Berseem, white, medium red, crimson, Ladino, alsike etc.

I know each of them can serve a different purpose and shine under different soil conditions.

I figured a post just about experiences and results with different kinds of clover could be helpful.

 

[BobinCt]

Only the (BOB) seed clovers work. I've tried planting plots that aren't BOB seeds and the deer won't touch those plots.

 

[bueller]

Only the (BOB) seed clovers work. I've tried planting plots that aren't BOB seeds and the deer won't touch those plots.

:emoji_octagonal_sign: i hope you are being sarcastic

 

[mikmaze]

great luck here with using crimson clover in my fall mixes for quick green in the spring and adding N to the soil. I also had a great stand of sweet yellow to stand as cover and add N to a plot. My two go to clovers for long term are med red, and jumbo ladino. I have had some short term luck with clover from wild turkey federation, and tractor supply sourced new zealand plot spike, but both seem to falter quicker than desired.

 

[j-bird]

I recently stumbled across a red clover that is awesome....it's called Barduro Red Clover. As I understand it's a perennial that should last at least a few years. It has done really well for me this year and the deer seemed to really like it as well. I found it in a BOB seed mix by Evolved Harvest. This pic is taken in a plot that literally has a 30 acre soybean field not 10 yards away and the deer still hammered it....look at all the nipped stems!


Nothing wrong with BOB (buck-on-bag) seed.....also not entirely required. Co-op seed has it's place, but varieties tend to be more aimed at livestock grazing or haying operations. Local co-op's tend to have limited selection, but many on-line sources can carry many different varieties as well. Don't overlook any source for seed. What co-op's lack in variety selection they tend to be able to make up for in price and you pay for only the seed you want. BOB seed is pricey in larger quantities and can have other seed you really don't want/need but tends to be a quick and easy option as well. Both have their place.....I use both depending on the need/situation.

 

[BobinCt]

Of course. I just laugh at how over-priced they are .

 

[yoderjac]

I'm in zone 7A. I like Durana for its persistence and drought tolerance once established. It is slow to establish. It is low growing so if you are not tolerant of weeds (I'm weed tolerant), you can use a wicking bar to handle most weeds. It get several more years out of a field than using Ladino and it goes dormant for a much shorter period if at all during my summers. For annual clovers, I like Crimson Clover. In my area it acts as an reseeding annual and you won't find a clover more beautiful in bloom. I'm warming up to fixation clover. I used it as a substitute for Crimson last year. I was not impressed at first, but it seemed to catch up after a while. Crimson might be a better fit for my timing but I can see where Fixation may work as well or better depending on the application.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[bueller]

I have very sandy soil. Medium red clover from the local co-op has been very good for me.

 

[bbcoach]

Another Durana fan. When started in the fall, the next summer it looks like this. Control the weeds in it and it will last at least 5 years.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

I took the advice of LC on some clover choices. In the white clover category, my camp has used Ladino, Alice and Kopu II for several years with very good results. As for red clover, Starfire and Marathon have been good producers for us. Our soil is a heavier, clay-ish loam that drains fairly well. Camp is border of zones 5 & 6.

 

[WTNUT]

All good advise, but only Yoderjac hit on the point I was going to make. Where are you located? Some clovers do much better in certain areas of the country. For example, some of the BOB companies include a lot of crimson, arrow and other types that do really well in the south. But, if you are in the midwest or northern part of the country you may prefer more of the whites like Alice (which is my favorite by the way). In my, opinion if you plant a mixture and let it go to seed every once in a while, nearly all clover plots will darn near last as long as you keep letting them go to seed and controlling competition with herbicides or mowing.


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[Bc4abc]

i have done durana, ladino, and red...hands down i like the Durana best.....seems to establish well and choke out competition better than the other two.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Anybody plant Durana around the border of zones 5 & 6 ?? I read it does well in warmer, southern areas - I have no idea of how it does in colder areas.

 

[bbcoach]

Here's a read from Pennington seed https://www.pennington.com/all-products/agriculture-wildlife/wildlife/other/durana-clover It shows it growing throughout the entire US. Not sure how it winters in upper US but it grows GREAT in Eastern NC in pine plantations.

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

Here in the deep south....crimson and yuchi are really good choices. You can grow durana but you need good soil moisture and some shade. When our summer heat really peaks out it zaps durana and makes it go dormant.

 

[yoderjac]

All good advise, but only Yoderjac hit on the point I was going to make. Where are you located? Some clovers do much better in certain areas of the country. For example, some of the BOB companies include a lot of crimson, arrow and other types that do really well in the south. But, if you are in the midwest or northern part of the country you may prefer more of the whites like Alice (which is my favorite by the way). In my, opinion if you plant a mixture and let it go to seed every once in a while, nearly all clover plots will darn near last as long as you keep letting them go to seed and controlling competition with herbicides or mowing.


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One of the tricks that WTI play is to include a lot of inexpensive berseem annual clover with a small percentage of their improved clovers (which are great). When you look at the actual amount of their improved perennial clovers in the bag the price per pound is outrageous. This likely doesn't matter to folks planting small attraction plots as the overall cost is insignificant. However folks actually doing QDM at scale can do much better buying improved clovers from companies that are willing to sell their improved clovers individually not as part of a mix.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Ben Glantz]

I read up on clovers and I am making an educated guess on putting my own 'mix' together. I ordered 5lbs each of crimson, red and ladino. I got 15 pounds of clover for $55.00 when the premixed bag clovers go for 35-40$ for 3-5 lbs. These 3 types of clover have sprouted and worked well in my plots in the past and those came from the premixed bags from a couple different food plot seed companies. I will see how these seeds work.

 

[chucker66]

For Crimson, can you plant that in the fall in Zone 4 or is it an early spring clover up here?

Chuck

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

I believe you can plant it in the fall but it wont do much if anything until next spring. Good to use for plowdown N credit. I'm going to over seed my beans with it this fall for next years sugar beets.