Illustration
Red Clover
Trifolium pratense
Also called purple clover, cow grass, medium red clover and peavine clover
Red Clover blooms from May through August.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Red Clover
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 3–9. Expect it to reach about 20 in tall and 16 in wide at maturity, in roughly 2 years (a house reading).
Pets
- Not yet checked for pets.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
No toxicity note is on file for Red Clover. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What was checked
Fifteen fields were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it, with every unsettled point written down and decided: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, soil, diseases, pests, toxicity, the plant's own names, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Red Clover
Plant Red Clover in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 6, the middle of its hardy zones 3 to 9, spring means March to May and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms from May to August.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 6, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 6 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Red Clover get?
20 intall5 ft 7 inan adult16 inwideSee Red Clover in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Red Clover
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Red Clover about 16 in apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Red Clover to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Red Clover's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity were checked against 14 published sources on August 28, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- NC State ExtensionPlant Toolboxheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, pests and toxicity
- extension.missouri.eduUniversity of Missouri Extension, G4638 Red Cloverwater, bloom months and color, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity
- illinoiswildflowers.infoIllinois Wildflowerssun, water, bloom months and color and pests
- Mississippi State University ExtensionServicehardiness zones, sun, soil and diseases
- sare.orgSARE, Managing Cover Crops Profitably, 3rd Editionhardiness zones, water, soil and diseases
- burkeherbarium.orgBurke Herbarium Image Collection, University of Washingtonheight and bloom months and color
- minnesotawildflowers.infoMinnesota Wildflowersheight and bloom months and color
- Native Plant Trust (Go Botany)Go Botany, Native Plant Trustheight and bloom months and color
- Penn State Extensionwater, soil and diseases
- u.osu.eduOhio State University, OSU Weed Managementheight and bloom months and color
- worldfloraonline.orgWorld Flora Online, Northeastern Flora treatmentheight and bloom months and color
- OutsideprideSeed Sourceheight and hardiness zones
- RHSRoyal Horticultural Societyspread
- weedid.missouri.eduUniversity of Missouri Weed IDheight
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.