Clover Question

What type of clover do you want to plant?

A perinneal. At this point that's as far as I have gotten. Which would you recommend?

I have Durana, Crimson and Arrowleaf clover plots on my property. All these are great choices for MS.

Crimson will work best for lower pH soils and will give you a good plot this fall.

Longer term, Durana is the best. The first fall and winter growth will be slow.
You will have to put some work in a Durana clover plot, spraying and clipping during the year is a must for a great stand.

There are many threads on this forum concerning clover that should give you additional information.

I was in your situation 3 years ago.

If you are looking for perennial, then I suggest Ladino. I know nothing about your soils, other than pH. Our soils were at 5.6. After soil test recommendation, I chose Ladino because it is supposed to handle lower pH. So 3 years ago, I limed in early August, planted ladino in mid Sept and it is still going strong. Going on 3 years now, with maintenance, I expect a few more years. Im located in the rolling hills of Holmes Co. and I have planted ladino on several types of soil with pH ranging from 5.5-6. All have performed excellent.

I have been very impressed with the way it handled extreme hot & cold temps, along with dry conditions the 1st summer. Also have been very impressed with the 1st winter of growth. All plots were thick and 3-4 inches tall in their in their 1st winter after planting.

My pH is 5.4, it then recommends 65# of 0-46-0 and 250# of 8-24-24. How much and what kind of fertilizer did you use? And did you plant anything with it the first year?

robbie252 said:

My pH is 5.4, it then recommends 65# of 0-46-0 and 250# of 8-24-24. How much and what kind of fertilizer did you use? And did you plant anything with it the first year?

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Go ahead and put the lime down now and plant some Durana Clover when the proper time comes.

Planting rate per acre? And fertilize as soil test recommends?

robbie252 said:

My pH was around 5.6. I haven't gotten to like in time like I wanted and was wondering if I would be able to put some lime down now and plant the clover in mid September to get a stand this year. Or should I wait until next year? What are yals thoughts?

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Can't guarantee that it will work, but I've been able to bump my pH about 0.4 per application of 250 - 300 Lb. Acre. of pellatized lime per acre on a new property that needed lime. If you want to go for it this year you might try some pellatized lime and maybe the clover will take.

robbie252 said:

Planting rate per acre? And fertilize as soil test recommends?

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I plant 6 lbs of Durana or 25 lbs of Crimson clover per acre. Fertilize as recommended.

Just remember, if your ph is off, you're wasting money on fertilizer the plant won't be able to take up.

Just curious here guys....when trying to start a new clover plot and being clover grows pretty slow at 1st, do you guys mix anything else in it to get the deer coming in or just clover only. In other words, if i planted strictly clover would there be enough to hold deer without anything else. These are roughly 1-1.5 acre plots on average.

I did a mix of 5lb chickasaw(ladino), 5lb crimson, 120lbs wheat and 25lb rye that i planted last fall. The clover did go slow but with all th rest, we had a good stand. By spring as the wheat and rye died back the clovers took over and shaded all the regen back. We have bushhogged twice and now have full stands of ladino clover that we plan to sustain as long as nature allows. I know this has been the year for clover, but not replanting this fall is gonna be nice.

Wayne Mac said:

Just curious here guys....when trying to start a new clover plot and being clover grows pretty slow at 1st, do you guys mix anything else in it to get the deer coming in or just clover only. In other words, if i planted strictly clover would there be enough to hold deer without anything else. These are roughly 1-1.5 acre plots on average.

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If you plant Crimson, you will have plenty of forage this fall season.

If you go with Durana, it will be spring before it takes off. I don't like to mix any cereal grains in my Durana. Don't want my clover to have any competition getting established.

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