White Blossom Sweet Clover
White Blossom Sweet Clover is one of the most popular bee attractant and nectar sources used in the US. White Blossom Sweet Clovers makes a very appealing, light colored honey. Sweet clover flowers are attractive to bees, butterflies and many pollinating species. They are highly used for honey production, yields up to 200 pounds per colony have been obtained (USDA, 1937).
Seed production fields using pollinators yield over 700 pounds of seed/acre vs 80-100 pounds of seed/acre not using natural pollinators. White Blossom may also be used as a nitrogen source for green manure or plow down mixtures, capable of adding 80-100 units of nitrogen per acre while improving soil tilth.
White Blossom can be used for hay and pasture; however, it has more of a bitter taste than other species of clover (sweet clovers have coumarin in their plant tissue which can become bitter). While cattle may graze sweet clover sparingly, they will increase their intake once they get used to the taste.
White Blossom Sweet Clover is pre-inoculated with an OMRI listed inoculation for improved establishment and growth.
Inoculation is recommended when planting legumes.
*Details on seed coatings, inoculations and our OMRI certificates are available on our Resources Page.
OMRI Listed
No
Establishment
Plant at 1/4″ depth.
An ideal soil bed is moist, fertile and firm.
A soil test is recommended for proper plant establishment and growth.
Management
White Blossom should be grazed in the spring and early summer when its palatability is at its highest because later in the season stems may become “woody”. Sweet Clover hay yields are good; however, hay must be cut in the bud to 12% bloom stage because full flowering will result in stemmy plants with lower quality. White Blossom is a true biennial, heading out the 2nd year after planting. White Blossom Sweet Clover grows 5-6 feet tall and blooms approximately two weeks later than Yellow Blossom Sweet Clover. White Blossom Sweet Clover does not do well on acid soils and prefers well drained soils. White Blossom Sweet Clover works best in short rotations and is not as palatable as other legumes such as white clover in pastures or as consistent as red clover in producing high quality hay.