How to Kill Red Clover Weed

You love planting flowers, shrubs and other plants in your yard or garden. You work for days on outdoor projects, but the one plant you may not love is the red clover weed. A red clover weed is a perennial weed with a strong tap root. Once red clover weeds appear in your yard, they grow quickly and can cover other plants and flowers. Removing red clover weeds requires pulling the weed from the ground and using a selective weed killer.

Things You'll Need

• Hoe
• Garden gloves
• Trash bag
• Selective weed killer (with mecoprop, or fluroxypyr and clopyralid)

Instructions

1. Use a hoe and your hands to chop up and pull from the roots any red clover weeds that are extending into a flower bed, landscaping box or other area containing flowers and plants you don't want to kill. Wear a pair of garden gloves to protect your hands.

2. Pick up the chopped/pulled red clover weeds and place them in a trash bag.

3. Spray a selective weed killer that contains mecoprop, or fluroxypyr and clopyralid, directly on to any remaining red clover weeds. Make sure you don't spray the weed killer on any plants or flowers you don't want to kill.

4. Spray a stream of selective weed killer on any red clover weeds you see growing along a driveway, by a fence or other area.

5. Pull up any dead red clover leaves and fill any bare area of yard with grass seed, flowers or other plants.

Tips & Warnings

• A selective weed killer will usually kill red clover weeds after one application. Repeat application if you still have some remaining red clover weeds.

References

• Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)

Resources

• Red Clover