CULT: Clover

Greetings.

I have some observations and a caveat about clover.

First, I like clover and because I can't do much cultivating under the
magnolia I have been incorporating white Dutch clover into the grass when I
reseed, both for the soil benefits of its legumeness and also for the bees. It
did well and I contemplated putting in an all-clover lawn like I had read
somewhere that the Persians do, or did. Then last summer came the terrible
drought and it was necessary to water the garden from time to time. I then
began to see spots of southern blight, a fungal disease, in the lawn where the
clover was.  Not in the grass, but where the clover, a low, flat, ground-
hugging mat, was thick and shaded the soil beneath. So, quite aside from any
other cautions about clover in the iris bed--and I believe Mike Lowe had a
disastrous experience with it--I think it unquestionably encourages growth of
some soil borne pathogens by inhibiting air movement at the soil's surface and
holding in moisture. I could not access the Archives just now when I tried to
pull up a reference, but if I recall correctly, a search on the word "clover"
might be productive for anyone interested in the subject. 

Anner Whitehead, Richmond, VA--USDA Zone 7
Henry Hall   Henryanner@aol.com
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