5.2 Perennials

PERENNIALS
clover) 54; alsike clover, white clover and red clover account for a major part of the H
produced in Canada, but they are much less widely grown than they once were 54,78 .
Notes: about 300 spp. of leguminous plants of wide distribution in temperate and
subtropical regions; some spp. are valuable forage and cover crops, some are
constituents of lawns and a few are grown as omamentals; propagation by seed
broadcast in early spring.
Trifolium hybridum L.
alsike clover, alsike, hybrid clover, trefle hybride
per. Jun-Jul (Oct) less than 60 cm NP
Value for honey: HP4 16 ; H yield up to 90 kg/colony/season 17 ; N sugar concentration
26-47% 17; beekeepers describe rapid gains on this clover (e.g. 32 kg/colony in 4
days) 72; one of the best H plants in Canada 72 ; N supply is increased by relatively low
nitrogen and relatively high boron in the soil 17 ; N secretion is stopped by drought 17 ;
see Trifolium.
Value for pollen: 45% of P collected at Beaverlodge Research Sta., Alta. over a 2 yr.
period from alsike clover 66 .
Honey: light in colour, classed as white; granulates rapidly; heavy body; flavour mild
and delicate 17 .
Notes: common pasture mix with timothy and red top grasses; used in crop rotations as
an ann. or bienn.; could be used in a mix for seeding along roadsides; often spreads
naturally to roadsides and clearings from Nfld. to B.C., and S. to n. USA. 23 ; originally
named as a hybrid from an early misconception that it was derived as a hybrid cross,
whereas it is actually a true sp. See Trifolium.
Trifolium pratense L.
red clover, trefle commun, Trefle rouge
per. -37° to -29° C Jun-Aug 5-100 cm N(D)P
Value for honey: HP3 16 ; N sugar concentration up to 70 17 ; plots treated with boron
and ammonium molybdate showed a 53% increase in N secretion (and seed set) as well
as an increase in N sugar concentration 17 ; N secretion higher in hot dry summers 17 ;
first crop (of 2 or 3 crops in a season) often cut for hay during early bloom 17 and so
may be of little value for N; continuing disagreement about the value of red clover as a
H plant.
The corolla of the red clover flower is longer than the honeybee's tongue, and
only a small amount of N is accessible unless it is stolen by way of holes previously
made near the base of the blossom. The holes are often made by insects collecting N or
P, but not usually by the honeybee 54 . Late season cuts are more attractive to honeybees
because the corollas of these plants are usually much shorter than the corollas of the
first cut 54 ; see Trifolium .
Value for pollen: load is dark green to dark reddish brown 17 .
Honey: has a reddish or pink tinge; classed as water white to light amber, granulates
rapidly; flavour mild and has nearly no aroma 17 .
Notes: cultivated crop for hay, silage, pasture or green manure; fertile moist soil that is
well-drained; average to heavy neutral loam and clay are recommended; lime deficiency
is not tolerated 17 ; roadsides, clearings and turf, Lab. to B.C., S. beyond Can. limits 23 ;
var. sativum (Mill.) Shreb. 23 , cultivated red clover, is more common than T. pratense23.
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