Ladino White Clover is the large-leaved, high-yielding forage type of white clover, an introduced European legume. It is planted in grass pastures for very high protein and digestibility and for the nitrogen it adds to companion grasses, potentially 100 to 200 lb per acre per year. It spreads by creeping stolons that root at the nodes, so stands persist and thicken even as individual stems die back. Ladino grows about 12 to 14 inches tall, taller than common white clover, with white to pinkish-white globe-shaped flower heads from late spring into fall. Bumblebees, honeybees, mason bees, and butterflies visit the flowers, and Clouded Sulphur caterpillars feed on the leaves. It likes cool, moist conditions and fertile, somewhat poorly drained soils with a pH around 6.0 to 6.5, and it has poor drought tolerance. Manage it in grass mixtures to reduce bloat risk. Frost-seed or overseed it in late winter.

Quick facts

• Height: 12–14 in
• Sun: Full to Partial
• Soil moisture: Medium-Wet to Medium
• Bloom time: May–Oct (White)
• Life cycle: Perennial
• Notes: Legume, Cool-season, Stoloniferous, Nitrogen-fixing, Pasture
• Native range: Introduced forage / cover crop species (not native)