How to Grow White Clover
White Clover At a Glance
Difficulty
Easy
Category
Cover Crop
Sun Exposure
Full Sun, Partial Sun, Partial Shade
Frost Tolerance
Frost Hardy
Cold Hardiness
Survives to -29°C
Plant Family
Fabaceae
Growing Season
Cool Season
Plant Lifecycle
Perennial
How to Start It
★ Recommended for beginners
White clover handles cold, so sow it in early spring, around your last frost, or in late summer. Scatter the seeds evenly over loose, raked soil, rake them in lightly, no more than 0.5 cm deep, and press the soil down. They sprout in 5 to 12 days and spread on their own into a thick mat.
White clover is a low, creeping plant that comes back every year and feeds the soil: like beans, it makes its own nitrogen (a plant food) with help from tiny bacteria on its roots. Use it as a living mulch (a low ground cover that shades out weeds) under tall crops, in paths, or as a soft, bee-friendly lawn.
When To Start
First chance to plant
30 Days Before Last Frost
Last chance to plant
30 Days Before First Frost
When should you plant White Clover?
Your planting dates depend on your local climate. Sign up and add your location to unlock personalized dates.
Your White Clover Planting Window
Start planting
May 15, 2026
Last chance
Sep 10, 2026
Your White Clover Calendar
Set your location to turn these into exact dates and reminders.
Scatter white clover seed now to cover bare soil
Around your last frost· every year
Did you water your white clover seedlings today? Keep the top of the soil damp until they are up and growing.
About 1 days after you plant it
Time to thin the white clover seedlings: snip the extras at soil level so each one has room to grow.
About 22 days after you plant it
Your white clover is filling in! Keep the soil lightly moist until it covers the ground.
About 32 days after you plant it
Checking in on your white clover. Bees love its flowers, and you can mow the tops once it blooms.
About 52 days after you plant it
Picking time may be here: check your white clover.
About 60 days after you plant it
The Journey Ahead
White Clover's Lifecycle
Seedling
Mature Plant
Seed Production
Step 1
Prepare Your Space
0.5 cm
Seeding Depth
15 cm
Plant Spacing
30 cm
Row Spacing
4
Plants / Sq Ft
Vertical Growing
No.
Method: None
Succession Planting
Yes.
Good Companions
Bad Companions
Step 2
Planting & Sprouting
Expect sprouts in 5–12 days
Growing Tips
- 1White clover grows in full sun or part shade.
- 2It grows in most soils and needs no compost or feeding, since it makes its own plant food.
- 3Water often until it is well up, then it handles dry spells on its own.
- 4Mow or cut it to about 5 cm a few times a summer to keep it thick and low.
- 5Bees love the flowers, so wear shoes when you walk on it in bloom.
Seedling Phase
Step 3
Growth & Maturity
~60
Days to Maturity
15 cm
Mature Height
30 cm
Mature Width
Pests to Watch For
Diseases to Watch For
Mature Plant
Step 4
Harvesting
Harvest Window
30 days
When to Pick
Harvest tops or mow when flowers appear
How to Harvest
- 1White clover is not picked like a crop, but it works hard in the garden.
- 2Cut it down when it starts to flower and leave the clippings where they fall, so they feed the soil.
- 3To use it as green manure (a crop grown to feed the soil), chop it down and dig it into the top of the soil a few weeks before you plant.
- 4Let some flowers bloom near your vegetables to bring in the bees that pollinate them.
Step 5
Saving Seeds
How to Save Seeds
White clover needs bees to make seed, and a single plant does not pollinate itself well, so save seed from a big patch. Let the flower heads turn brown and dry on the plant, then pick them into a paper bag. Rub the heads between your hands to free the tiny seeds, and blow gently to clear away the bits. Store them labelled in a cool, dark, dry place, where they keep a few years.
Seed Production
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