WHITE CLOVER 
for the SOUTH 
Information for this publication was furnished by the Crops 
Research Division, Agricultural Research Service 
White clover’ is grown in most 
parts of the United States. Because 
of the wide range of conditions to 
which the crop is adapted, cultural 
practices differ in several ways. Rec- 
ommendations in this leaflet apply 
to three parts of the South, which are 
outlined on the map on page 3. 
White clover is the leading pasture 
legume in these areas. 
White clover spreads by creeping 
fleshy stems that root at the nodes. 
Most of the leaves are composed of 
three leaflets, and they develop from 
the crown and from the nodes of the 
stems. Flower heads are borne on 
separate stalks, and are composed of 
40 to 100 or more white to pinkish 
florets. White clover seeds are round- 
ish and yellow to reddish yellow. 
Seeds are very small; there are about 
700,000 per pound. 
White clover is a perennial legume, 
but it may behave as a winter annual 
or biennial under certain conditions. 
In the lower parts of the region shown 
on the map, it generally behaves as a 
winter annual. There is some growth 
throughout the year in this part of 
the region, but normally the seeds 
| Trifolium repens. 
2 
germinate in the fall, and plants grow 
throughout the winter and early 
spring and they set seed and die in 
early summer. 
White clover is used primarily as 
a pasture plant. Usually, it is grown 
in association with grasses and other 
legumes. It may be seeded alone 
when used as a pasture plant for 
swine or poultry or when grown as a 
seed crop. It 1s seldom seeded alone 
for any other purpose. It may be 
made into high-quality hay and silage, 
and is an excellent cover and green- 
manure crop. 
ADAPTATION 
White clover grows best in cool, 
moist weather. Dry, hot weather 
limits growth and plant survival. 
It is best adapted to soils rangin 
from clay to silty loams. White 
clover will grow in low-lying sandy 
soils, but it is not recommended for 
sandy soils that are droughty or low 
in fertility. While it will grow in 
slightly acid to medium acid soils, 
it yields better and is more persistent 
when grown in soils where the pH 
reaction is above 6.0. 
White clover may not perform 
