Too Late to Plant Clover in Ohio
Filed under: Ask Grant, Food Plots, Herbicide
I have a question concerning clover and planting dates here in the Midwest (specifically Ohio). I am trying to establish a white clover mix of Alice clover and Kopo II clover on some trails that lead to a destination food plot. I limed earlier this month and hit the trails with Glyphosate about 2 weeks ago. Can you successfully plant clover this late in the Midwest (June) or should I wait and plant in late summer (August) by using a cover crop like cereal grains? Will the summer time heat hurt the young clover seedlings if planted in June?
Thanks for the help!
Darron
Darron,
It is very late to plant clover, unless you are in the very northern part of Ohio and ample precipitation occurs during the rest of June, July, and August. If the weather is hot and dry, the young clover plants will simply die. They won’t have enough of a root system established to reach moisture deeper in the soil profile. I’d recommend waiting till late summer/early fall (at least 45 days before the first expected frost) and plant clover with a cover crop of wheat. This may mean you have to spray again to remove any weeds. Young clover is not a good competitor with weeds.
Growing Deer together,
Grant
