LawnSuite guide: Clover in lawns: what it tells you and how to deal with it
Use this LawnSuite guide to recognise the problem before deciding what to do. Clover is easy to spot and it tells you something about your lawn: it does best where the grass is underfed. Fixing the feeding is part of the answer.
How to spot it
Clover shows up as patches of three-leafed green, often where the lawn is hungry.
White clover has rounded leaflets and rounded heads of small white or pink flowers. Creeping oxalis has heart-shaped leaflets and small yellow flowers. Check the leaf shapes and flowers together.
Why it's there
Clover thrives in nitrogen-poor soil, so a patch of it is often a sign the lawn isn't getting enough to eat.
When it's dealt with
Clover is a broadleaf weed, usually dealt with alongside bindii as a winter broadleaf weed. Your climate and the product label set the exact timing.
Your grass type
Buffalo needs the most care: several broadleaf weed products that are fine on couch and kikuyu will damage or kill buffalo.
Lawn care that keeps it out
Feed the lawn at the right times for your grass type. A well-fed, dense lawn is the best long-term weed control, because most weeds are opportunists in thin turf.
If you use a product
Use a selective herbicide whose label lists your turf type and clover, and follow the label. If it doesn't say it's safe on buffalo and you have a buffalo lawn, don't use it.
Keep reading
Not sure it's clover?
Create a free LawnSuite account in your browser and photograph the patch. Photo diagnosis uses Google Gemini vision to identify the likely weed, pest or disease and shows a confidence score for each result, so you can match it to the signs on this page before you treat.