WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Trifolium fragiferum O'Connor (landscape use), WUCOLS IV

How often to water O'Connor's strawberry clover in California

In July in the Central Valley, established O'Connor's strawberry clover in loam needs a deep watering about every 8 days: about 2.2 gallons each time for a plant 2 feet across, about 1.9 gallons a week. O'Connor's strawberry clover is an Australian selection of strawberry clover, a low perennial legume that creeps by rooting stems into a dense mat. Its pink flower heads swell after bloom into fuzzy reddish balls that look like small strawberries. It tolerates wet, salty and alkaline soil better than most clovers, but it needs regular water through the dry season.

Ground coverRated for 4 of 6 zones

How often to water O'Connor's strawberry clover, month by month

Your city
Plant width
2 ft
Your soil

Type your city above and the days between waterings and the gallons appear here, worked out from your city's climate table. Or read the figures by climate zone further down.

Every month, on your water days. The personal plan prints this for O'Connor's strawberry clover and the rest of your yard, on the days your water supplier allows.Get the plan for $19

How this is worked out: established roots fill the top 1.5 feet of soil, and you water again when that soil has dried halfway. Loam soil holds about 1.5 inches of water per foot. Water the whole area the plant covers, and skip a watering after a good soaking rain.

Which soil do you have?

Dig down a few inches, take a handful of moist soil and squeeze it.

  • Sandy: gritty, falls apart when you open your hand, will not form a ball.
  • Loam: forms a soft ball that crumbles when you poke it.
  • Clay: forms a firm, sticky ball and squeezes out into a ribbon between thumb and finger.

Still not sure? Pick loam. Most garden beds sit between sand and clay.

How to measure plant width

A shrub with its width marked from one side to the other and the circle under it shaded blue

Measure across the plant, from the tips of the leaves on one side to the tips on the other.

Water the whole area the plant covers, shown in blue. The gallons here cover that area.

A wider plant means more gallons each watering, not more waterings. While it is young, measure again each spring.

How to tell it needs water

  • Soil dry 2 inches down under the mat in summer signals that strawberry clover needs a soak
  • Leaves wilting and turning dull in summer heat point to a dry root zone
  • Brown patches with fluffy white mold in cool, wet weather can point to clover rot rather than thirst
  • Fresh mounds of soil and dying patches point to gophers, which this clover can attract in California
  • Orange rust pustules on the leaves after long wet spells call for letting the surface dry between waterings

How to water it

  • Water with low-angle sprinklers or in-line drip, soaking the soil 8 to 12 inches deep
  • Let the top inch or two of soil dry between waterings in summer
  • Skip nitrogen fertilizer, since this legume makes its own and extra nitrogen favors grasses over clover
  • Plant it where the creeping stems can spread, and edge it away from beds where it is not wanted
  • Use it on wet, salty or alkaline ground where many lawn grasses struggle

Through the seasons

Seed or plugs set out in late fall or spring need steady moisture until the stems knit into a mat. Established clover still needs regular water from spring through fall, since it wants more moisture than California's dry summers provide. Growth slows in winter, when coastal and Central Valley rain usually keeps the mat moist. It also tolerates winter flooding well. WUCOLS rates O'Connor's strawberry clover moderate water on the north-central coast, in the Central Valley, on the south coast and in South Inland. Both the high desert and the low desert are zones WUCOLS marks as not suited for it.

In pots

Strawberry clover is a groundcover rather than a pot plant, but it can carpet a shallow planter or the base of a large container. Check the mix an inch down every few days in summer and water when it dries, letting it drain fully, then empty the saucer. Its creeping stems root at every node, so trim runners that spill over the edge. Water less in winter, when growth slows and rain helps.

1 Your climate zone six WUCOLS zones, each from its own reference city
2.67gal per sq ft in JulyModerate water use in the Central Valley zone
A year
17.11 gal per sq ft
Reference
Sacramento climate table
Counts
Plant need, before sprinkler losses
0.671.32.02.70.4JAN0.65FEB1.09MAR1.52APR2.08MAY2.48JUN2.67JUL2.39AUG1.8SEP1.18OCT0.56NOV0.34DEC0.671.32.02.70.4JFM1.52AMJ2.67JAS1.18OND
Gallons per square foot per month, Central Valley. Peak 2.67 in Jul, 17.11 a year.

Monthly water need by climate zone

O'Connor's Strawberry Clover: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.370.40.780.78––
Feb0.530.650.810.87––
Mar0.871.091.151.3––
Apr1.181.521.41.61––
May1.462.081.611.95––
Jun1.612.481.742.29––
Jul1.612.671.982.51––
Aug1.492.391.862.33––
Sep1.241.81.491.86––
Oct0.871.181.151.33––
Nov0.470.560.840.9––
Dec0.310.340.650.68––
Year1217.1115.518.41––

How this is worked out: the WUCOLS water rating for each zone times that zone’s climate for the month. A dash means WUCOLS does not rate the plant there. The figures are what the plant uses, before sprinkler losses.

Plants with the same water needs 16

Rated moderate water in the Central Valley, like O'Connor's strawberry clover. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

Star JasmineTrachelospermum jasminoides and cvs.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyHoneysuckleLonicera japonicamoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyIvyHedera helixmoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyStrawberriesFragaria spp. & cvs. (CA native and non-natives species)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyCarpet BugleAjuga reptans (shade)moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyGreen Supreme ManzanitaArctostaphylos uva-ursi 'Green Supreme'moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyMassachusetts ManzanitaArctostaphylos uva-ursi 'Massachusetts'moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulySerbian BellflowerCampanula poscharskyanamoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyBunchberryCornus canadensismoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyKenilworth IvyCymbalaria muralismoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyCranesbillGeranium spp.moderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyGreen CarpetHerniaria glabramoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulySpotted DeadnettleLamium maculatummoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyLemon BalmMelissa officinalismoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyJapanese SpurgePachysandra terminalismoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in JulyMoss PinkPhlox subulatamoderate water, Central Valley2.67 gal/sq ft in July

Similar plants that need less water 16

Rated lower than O'Connor's strawberry clover in the Central Valley. Worth a look for a new bed or a lawn replacement.

BougainvilleaBougainvillea & spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyLantanaLantana camara ssp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyJunipersJuniperus spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyYarrowAchillea millefolium (non-native hybrids)low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySagebrushArtemisia spp. (shrubby)low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyCalifornia Native YarrowAchillea millefolium (CA native cultivars)low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyWoolly YarrowAchillea tomentosalow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyGround Morning GloryConvolvulus mauritanicuslow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyRock CotoneasterCotoneaster horizontalislow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySouth African GeraniumPelargonium sidoideslow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyLippia GroundcoverPhyla nodiflora (Lippia nodiflora) cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyRock SoapwortSaponaria ocymoideslow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyMother of ThymeThymus praecoxlow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyVancouver Jade BearberryArctostaphylos uva-ursi 'Vancouver Jade'low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyTrailing LantanaLantana montevidensis (sellowiana) ssp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyGermanderTeucrium chamaedrys ssp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in July
Minutes for your sprinklers

Turn this into minutes on your water days

Every city page has a calculator that takes O'Connor's strawberry clover, your sprinkler type and the month, and gives the minutes per water day for that supplier's schedule. Or put it in a zone of the personal watering plan and get all twelve months printed.

Questions people ask

How often should I water O'Connor's strawberry clover in summer?

In July, established O'Connor's strawberry clover in loam needs a deep watering about every 8 days in the Central Valley, about every 11 days on the south coast and about every 9 days in the South Inland zone. Sandy soil holds less water, so waterings come closer together. Clay stretches them. Check the soil before each watering and skip one after a soaking rain.

How much water does O'Connor's strawberry clover need per day?

In July in the Central Valley, established O'Connor's strawberry clover needs about 0.3 gallons a day for a plant 2 feet across and about 1.1 gallons a day for a plant 4 feet across. Give it in deep waterings spread days apart rather than a little every day, so the whole root zone gets wet.

Does watering for O'Connor's strawberry clover change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates O'Connor's strawberry clover separately for each of the six California climate zones: moderate water in the North-Central Coastal zone, moderate water in the Central Valley zone, moderate water in the South Coastal zone, moderate water in the South Inland zone, not suited to this region in the High and Intermediate Desert zone, not suited to this region in the Low Desert zone. The monthly table above shows how the same rating translates into different gallon amounts as reference evapotranspiration changes.

Can strawberry clover replace a lawn?

It forms a low, dense mat that can stand in for turf, and it tolerates salty, wet or alkaline soil. It still needs regular summer water. Its flowers draw bees, so think twice where people walk barefoot.

Does strawberry clover need fertilizer?

It fixes its own nitrogen, so it needs little or none. Adding nitrogen favors grasses and weeds over the clover. A soil test shows whether it needs phosphorus or potassium.

Can strawberry clover take flooding?

Yes. It tolerates flooding for up to about two months, and its stem tips grow up above the water. That makes it useful in low, wet spots that drown other groundcovers.

Why do strawberry clover flowers look like strawberries?

After bloom, the pink flower heads swell into fuzzy reddish balls that resemble small strawberries and hold the seed. That look is normal and not a sign of disease or stress.

Will strawberry clover spread into my beds?

It spreads mainly by stems that root at each node, and less often by seed. It can creep into neighboring plantings, so edge it with a barrier or mow along the borders.

More plant watering guides

Western CottonwoodSpring CinquefoilOriental Bush CherryEnglish LaurelFlowering PlumChokecherryStrawberry GuavaPasque Flower

Sources