Trifolium pratense
flowerRed clover (Trifolium pratense) is a short-lived perennial legume with the classic three-part leaves often marked with a pale crescent and rounded, sweet-scented rose-pink flowerheads beloved by bumblebees and honeybees. Long grown as a forage crop and a nitrogen-fixing green manure that enriches the soil, it is also valued in the garden for its edible, mildly sweet flowers, used fresh in salads and dried for a pleasant traditional tea. Easy, cheerful, and hardworking, it improves the ground it grows in, feeds pollinators all summer, and self-sows to persist, making it as useful in the vegetable plot as in the meadow.
Sun
full sun
Water
Every 7 days
Bloom
~90 days
Difficulty
easy
Lifecycle
perennial
Comes back every year
Spacing
Broadcast; thin to 6 in. apart
Planting Depth
About 1/4 in. deep
Soil pH
6.0-7.0
Soil Type
Average, well-draining
Hardiness Zones
Zones 3 – 9
When to Fertilize
None; the legume fixes nitrogen
Fertilizer
None; low needs
Sow red clover in spring or late summer in average, well-drained soil in full sun, broadcasting the small seed and raking it in lightly, or sowing it as an under-crop and cover crop among vegetables; it tolerates a range of soils and fixes its own nitrogen, so it needs no feeding. Keep lightly moist to establish. As a cover crop, cut or turn it in before it sets seed to return its nitrogen to the soil; as a flower and pollinator plant, let it bloom and it will draw bees all summer and self-sow. It is short-lived but persists by reseeding, and it tolerates mowing and light foot traffic.
🌼 Have a different variety?Cultivars of the same species usually share the same basic care — they differ mainly in flower color, height, and bloom form, not in how you grow them. So this guide still applies even if your exact variety isn't the one shown.
Direct sow
Apr 29
Projected first bloom
Jul 28
Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests
Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts — tap a name with an arrow for its full guide
Hose colonies from the growth; the many beneficial insects clover attracts help control them
Notch the leaf edges but rarely cause real harm - vigorous stands shrug off the damage
Pick the fresh pink flowerheads in full bloom on a dry morning, when they are sweetest, for use fresh in salads or for drying; snip the whole head, and a patch can be picked repeatedly through the long bloom season. Dry the flowers quickly and thoroughly in a shaded, airy place for tea, as the dense heads hold moisture. The young leaves are also edible cooked.
Red clover flowers are edible, mildly sweet, and pretty in salads, and are most often dried for a gentle, pleasant herbal tea with a long folk tradition; the young leaves can be cooked as a green. In the garden its bigger contributions are ecological - it fixes nitrogen to enrich the soil as a cover crop and is one of the best nectar plants for bees.
For educational and informational purposes only — HomeSown is not medical, health, or other professional advice. Always positively identify any plant before handling or eating it; some plants, and some parts of otherwise-edible plants, are toxic. Consult a qualified professional before consuming or otherwise using any plant, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a health condition.