Seed
Seedling
Vegetative Growth
Flowering Plant

Crimson Clover

Legume

(Trifolium incarnatum)

An annual legume and true clover, traditionally sown in the south east of England for over-winter sheep keep.

Uses

Used as a winter forage in milder parts of the UK. It is also used as a green manure for soil improvements in gardens and allotments. More recently it has been included in cover crop mixtures for agricultural land improvement.

Persistence

This is a short term annual species.

Strengths

Quicker to establish than some longer term clovers, it is vigorous at the seedling growth stage and provides good forage for livestock.

Frost Tolerance

Not winter hardy.

Yield

3 - 4 t DM/ha on pure stands.

Sowing Rate Advice

6kg per acre / 15kg per ha.

Mixture Sowing Rate Advice

1 - 2kgs per acre / 2.5 - 5kg per ha

When mixing with Italian ryegrass.

Ideal Sowing Time

Sow in warm soils in spring and not late into the autumn.

Management

The plant will withstand light topping early in its life cycle, if needed to control annual spring weeds. Severe grazing or cutting will reduce yield, grazing or cutting during or just after flowering normally kills off the plant. It does not suffer from the same clover sickness issues as red clover.

Distinguishing characteristics

Seed

Seed
One of the larger true clover seeds, crimson clover is a smooth, rounded oval to spherical shape. It is usually a light brown colour reaching a length of 2.5-3mm.

Seedling

Seedling
Crimson clover produces one of the largest seedlings of all the commonly used true clovers. The cotyledons are 7.5-8mm in length and 6-6.5mm wide, they grow on stalks which are about half the length of the cotyledon width. The first true leaves become hairy and larger than the cotyledons.

Vegetative State

Flowering Plant

Flowering Plant
The stem and leaves are densely hairy, each leaf is on long stalks, which get shorter as you reach the top of the stem. The leaves, hairy on both the top and underside also has a pronounced mid rib. The stipules between leaf and stem are easily visible and membranous, sometimes fringed with purple. The flower head is a rich crimson to red colour and shaped like a cone. Each plant has a slender taproot, with lateral branches.

Additional Info

It takes about 3 months to flower from sowing (12 weeks), 3-4 weeks longer than persian clover. A larger seed than red clover. Average seeds per kg - 240,000.

Works well with

Westerwold or Italian Ryegrass as a forage, or other annual clovers for soil improvement.

Buy Crimson Clover Straight

You can find Crimson Clover in the following mixtures

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