Black-leaved clover

Common name: Black-leaved clover
Latin name: Trifolium repens ‘Atropurpureum’
Plant type: Groundcover
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4-10
Cultural needs: Well drained, moist soil; sun to shade
Plant size: 3-6″ high by 12″ wide

White clover is native to every US State and almost all Canadian provinces. This portrait shows a selection of the common creeping clover with burgundy leaves edged in green. White flowers appear briefly May to June. A similar cultivar, called T.r. ‘Dark Dancer’, has pink flowers. Rabbits and woodchucks love this plant, so you can plant it as a foil, which may keep them from eating other plants. Found in lawns everywhere, you’ll often see bees and other pollinators gathering the pollen. White clover makes a great lawn substitute and can be mowed mid summer when it might get scruffy. You won’t need to make a wish on trifolium’s lucky four-leaf-clover foliage to get this plant to grow. In fact, it can be somewhat invasive in rich garden soil so don’t plant it next to slow-growing alpine plants. Keep the soil dry to control growth. Clover grows easily in clay soil, poor soil, and even hardpan, taking moderate foot traffic. Read how legumes and clovers pull the nutrient nitrogen from the air with the symbiotic help of nitrogen-fixing nodules made by a common bacterium, Rhizobium: www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/nitrogen-nodules-and-nitrogen-fixing-plants.htm