Go all in for St. Patrick’s Day: Plant a clover lawn. Why you might like it better than grass

Karl Schneider, Indianapolis Star
·2 min read

Last year's most popular home renovation trend involved replacing grass with clovers, according to the National Association of Realtors. Around St. Patrick’s Day is a great time to plan your own.

Spring and early summer brings warm days lots of rain in Indiana, perfect weather for clover seeds. Plus, the chances are greater that you'll find a four-leaf clover when you ditch the grass.

Here are some things to consider about trading in traditional turf grass for a lawn full of clovers.

Clover lawns require less maintenance

A full clover lawn, or monoculture, will eliminate the need to mow. Clover will typically only reach six inches in height but can tolerate being mown to three inches if that’s a little scraggly looking for some.

Clover will require less water than typical grass once it’s completely established in the lawn.

Clover also needs less chemicals like fertilizers and weed killers. It does a good job of keeping most lawn weeds at bay.

Choose the right type of clover

Micro clover is popular, but it’s not native to Indiana and introducing it on a large scale can devastate local ecology.

Purdue University also recommends not using sweet clovers unless the homeowner is ready to take extra precautions to stop them from spreading.

Clovers native to Indiana include

  • White prairie

  • Foxtail prairie

  • Purple prairie

  • Yellow-owl’s clover

  • Buffalo clover

  • Running buffalo clover

Clover lawns attract beneficial insects

More diverse wildlife will visit a clover lawn than a standard grass lawn.

Pollinators like butterflies and bees, which can suffer from habitat loss, will collect pollens.

Clover lawns aren’t for everyone

Heavy foot traffic can kill off clovers, but mixing seed with some turf grass could solve this.

While clover does well in partial shade, it won’t thrive in full shade.

Karl Schneider is an IndyStar environment reporter. You can reach him at karl.schneider@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @karlstartswithk

IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Want to find a four-leaf clover? Plant them in your lawn