Clover
Trifolium repens
A creeping perennial with three round leaflets and white flowers in spring. It spreads by runners and is good at holding its own in lawns that are short of nitrogen.
Also called: White clover
- Type
- Broadleaf
- Lifecycle
- Perennial
- Usually seen
- Most of the year, flowering in spring.
Short answer
Clover is a creeping perennial weed with three round leaflets and white flowers. It makes its own nitrogen, so it does best in lawns that are short of it. Feed the lawn at the label rate so the grass can compete, dig out small patches, and use a selective herbicide only if its label lists clover and your grass.
Overview
White clover is a perennial legume. Like other legumes it fixes nitrogen with the help of bacteria in its roots, which is why it thrives in lawns that haven’t been fed: it isn’t short of nitrogen when the grass is.
It spreads by runners and by seed, and the seed can stay alive in the soil for years. That’s why clover tends to come back after it’s sprayed, unless the lawn itself gets thicker and better fed.
How to identify clover
- Leaves
- Three round leaflets on each stalk, often with a pale, crescent-shaped mark.
- Flowers and seeds
- Round white flower heads in spring.
- Growth
- Creeps along the ground on runners (stolons) that root as they spread.
- When you see it
- Most of the year, flowering in spring.
Look-alikes
- Creeping oxalis: Oxalis leaflets are heart-shaped (notched at the tip) and its flowers are yellow.
What favours it
- Lawns that are short of nitrogen. As a legume, clover makes its own nitrogen through its roots, so it can out-compete hungry grass.
- Thin or low-mown lawns
Control without chemicals first
Feed the lawn properly in the growing season so the grass can compete.
Raise the mowing height so the grass shades out clover seedlings.
Dig out small patches, getting as much of the runner as you can.
Herbicide options
| Timing | Active ingredient | What it does | Grass types |
|---|---|---|---|
| post emergent | See product label | Selective broadleaf herbicides registered for clover in lawns. Check the label lists clover and your grass type; buffalo is sensitive to some of them. | Check the label |
In the Lawn Calendar
Clover makes its own nitrogen, so it thrives where the grass is hungry. Feeding the lawn at the label rate helps the grass compete.
September, October, November · Subtropical, Warm temperate, Temperate, Arid and inland, Cool and highland (including Tasmania)
Popular questions about clover
Guides
Common questions
Is clover bad for my lawn?
Some people like a little clover. If you want it gone, the long-term fix is a well-fed, thicker lawn; spraying alone tends to be followed by more clover.
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Who wrote this, and what it's based on
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Sources
- Turf weed, pest and disease identification guide (poster), Bayer Environmental Science, hosted by Turf AustraliaWhite clover: perennial; white flowers in spring; seed stays viable in soil for years; stolons aid spread. Accessed 3 October 2026.
- Trophy white clover: a new cultivar for dryland pastures (Primefact 821), NSW Department of Primary IndustriesWhite clover is a nitrogen-fixing legume that spreads by stolons. Accessed 4 October 2026.