White clover vs red clover for a UK garden
Updated: October 2026
You are about to sow a mix because the title says lawn and the price is a few pounds, and seven tenths of the seed is the tall species. White clover vs red clover is a height and a job. White clover creeps and can sit in a mown lawn. Red clover stands in a meadow or a cover, to about 60 cm. A packet that is 70 per cent red follows the red. The Products Compared editorial team compared the listings in the [clover seeds comparison](/hub/seeds-and-plants/clover-seeds) on 16 October 2026. Prices are the GBP figures in that table. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
You are about to sow a mix because the title says lawn and the price is a few pounds, and seven tenths of the seed is the tall species. White clover vs red clover is a height and a job.
You are about to sow a mix because the title says lawn and the price is a few pounds, and seven tenths of the seed is the tall species. White clover vs red clover is a height and a job. White clover creeps and can sit in a mown lawn. Red clover stands in a meadow or a cover, to about 60 cm. A packet that is 70 per cent red follows the red. The Products Compared editorial team compared the listings in the clover seeds comparison on 16 October 2026. Prices are the GBP figures in that table. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Species | Height | Pack weight | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Pronto Seed Pronto Seed white clover 2 kg | White clover | Not stated | 2 kg | 8.8 | about £62.98 | View offer |
| Alternative |  DAMAVAND PRO DAMAVAND PRO red and white mix, 5 m² | 70% red mix | 30 cm | 10 g | 7.6 | about £2.99 | View offer |
| Preis-Tipp |  Just Seed Just Seed wild white clover 1,500 seeds | White clover | 15 cm | 10 g | 8.0 | about £3.40 | View offer |
On this page
Two clovers, two heights
White clover, Trifolium repens, is a native creeping perennial. The Royal Horticultural Society describes it as the clover that stays lower when you cut it, which is why it turns up in lawns. Leave the mower off and it will bloom. It also dislikes soil that is very acid or waterlogged.
Red clover, Trifolium pratense, is the upright one. The RHS puts it at about 60 cm, in long grass and meadows, with flowers from May to October. The Damavand PRO straight red listing prints 15–60 cm and 40 cm on the same page. Damavand red clover is 10 g at £2.99, rated 4.2 from 228. White listings include Just Seed at £3.40 (4.0 from 145) and Pronto Seed’s 2 kg bag at £62.98 (4.4 from 159). Grams and shared review pools are on the clover seed buying guide.
What a 70 per cent red mix does
Three Damavand listings are 70 per cent red and 30 per cent white, titled for 5, 10 and 20 square metres, at £2.99, £4.99 and £8.00. All three show 4.1 from 458 reviews. That is one shared pool. The 5 square metre pack is 10 g. The 10 square metre pack is listed at 20 g while a table says 40 g. The 20 square metre pack is listed at 50 g while a table says 90 g. At about 10 g per square metre, none of those weights fills the area on the title.
Buyers report that the red crowded the white, that only red came up, or that only white came up. If the red establishes, expect plants towards 15–60 cm, not a mat you can call micro clover. Meadowmania’s blend, which is 40 per cent red and not this product, still gives 30–60 cm and says it suits wild patches better than mowing. Choose the mix for a loose flowering patch, and check the grams on arrival. Skip it for a weekly cut. If leaf size is the goal, use the micro clover seed page instead.
Crimson is a third plant
Some blends add crimson clover, Trifolium incarnatum, and the shared word makes it sound like more of the same. It is a third plant. The RHS describes it as an upright cover, to about 45 cm, used as a green manure. Cut it to the ground and it does not grow again. Red clover can stand for one or two years. White clover creeps and regrows after mowing. Crimson does neither of those jobs.
The Damavand 70/30 listings here are red and white, not a labelled crimson blend. SeedsAlp’s 100 g mix at £9.99 names ten types, includes buckwheat, and is rated 3.8 from seven reviews. That is a cover. If a listing mentions crimson, do not add it to the white percentage in your head. The RHS sows red and crimson manures from March to August. Season and depth for a lawn are on the how to sow clover seed page.
When to buy red on purpose
Buy red clover when you want height, meadow flowers, or a cover you will cut and later remove. The clear packet in this set is Damavand PRO red clover at £2.99, 10 g, rated 4.2 from 228, with 15–60 cm on the listing. That is a small patch, not a field. The 70 per cent mixes are a second way to buy mostly red, with weights that disagree with their own tables. Prefer the straight red packet when red is the plant you want.
Buy white when you will mow. The 2 kg Pronto bag is the large white listing. Just Seed at £3.40 is the small named one. The 5 g Damavand white pouch is only a test, and its title also says Oxalis and shamrock. For a flowering meadow, choose red and leave the mower. For a lawn, choose white and keep cutting.
Common questions
Which one makes a lawn?
White clover makes the lawn. It creeps, and the RHS describes it as the clover that stays lower when cut. Red clover grows to about 60 cm and fits long grass or a meadow. A 70 per cent red mix follows the red, so it is a meadow packet with some white in it. You can mow red clover. You should expect a tall plant, compared with white clover kept on a regular cut.
How tall is red clover?
About 60 cm in RHS guidance for long grass, with flowers from May to October. The Damavand straight red listing prints 15–60 cm and also 40 cm, so the shop range matches that rather than a dwarf lawn type. Micro white clover left unmown is more like 20–30 cm in Meadowmania’s note, and shorter if you mow. A 4.2 from 228 reviews does not change the height.
Will a 70/30 mix stay low?
No. These Damavand mixes are 70 per cent red, so most of the seed is the tall species. Reviewers say the red crowded the white, or that only one of the two appeared. The three sizes, at £2.99, £4.99 and £8.00, share 4.1 from 458 reviews, which does not add a low habit. Meadowmania warns that even a blend with less red, at 30–60 cm, suits wild patches better than mowing. Two listings also disagree with their own gram tables.
What is crimson clover doing in a mix?
Crimson is an upright green manure, about 45 cm on the RHS species page, and it stops when you cut it to the ground. It does not creep back after mowing the way white clover does. The 70/30 Damavand packets here are labelled red and white, not crimson. A single cut that tidies a lawn can end a crimson sowing, which suits a vegetable bed and fails if you wanted lasting turf.
Which is better for bees?
Both can flower, so this page does not crown a bee clover. The RHS notes red clover in bloom from May to October in longer grass. White clover flowers too if you do not mow the heads off. A short lawn offers fewer blooms than a meadow, whichever species you sowed. We did not survey insects. Choose red or a red-heavy mix for a flowering patch. Choose white when you will mow, and accept fewer flowers while the cut stays tight.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources for this comparison. amazon.co.uk listings were read on 15 October 2026.
- RHS, Clover in lawns (retrieved 15 October 2026)
- RHS, Green manures (retrieved 15 October 2026)
- RHS, Starting a lawn from seed (retrieved 15 October 2026)
- Seed Marketing Regulations 2011 (retrieved 15 October 2026)
- Meadowmania, micro white clover (retrieved 15 October 2026)
- The Grass People, sowing micro clover (retrieved 15 October 2026)
- Royal Kennel Club, poisons in your garden (retrieved 15 October 2026)
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 11 (retrieved 15 October 2026)