Well, if it's dutch clover (and not sweet clover) (common names are a pain)...it's a cool season grower and you can zap it now or before warm season prairie plants (most all are) show up.
Round up away....

again...if its not sweet clover. if its sweet clover, Melilotus officinalis, none of the following applies.

the early cool season clovers are very easy to control with fire. im very cautious about spraying a plant with roundup that is so easily killed by fire.

i have also done testing on the cool season clovers using roundup, fire and nothing. the results were very clear.

fire = virtually all over wintered plant gone tho seeds were present but later fires made the site virtually devoid.

roundup = killed much of 1 year growth but not as completely as fire did. next year it was almost as thick as first year seeding worth of clover. but over time, the site was quicker to reduce clover populations as the control site.

control site= hardy clover growth thru 3 years then a dry summer started to decline. maybe the prairie got lucky but now @ year 6, it seems almost as dense as the other sites, just seemed to take longer.

one last comment. a local wildlife biologist feels that the clover can effectively be an excellent nurse crop for longer lived species. Alfalfa is another of his choices and it kinda has a nice scent as well as a nice looking flower.

good luck.

froggy

Here is a link that might be useful: dutch clover

Frog,
You mention fire as a preferred method of control. The seeds broadcasted last fall had some success in starting before the clover fired up. I suspect that many more of them are "waiting" for an opportunity to germinate. Since the prairie is in its second year, I'm still in the mowing stage and can't mass burn for another year or two. What do you think about spot burning with a torch? That way I could avoid the many prairie plants that have managed to stick up their heads. It would suck for awhile but if it works I'd gain some ground.
Whaddya think?
Bagger

why cannot u burn in the first 2 years?

"Since the prairie is in its second year, I'm still in the mowing stage and can't mass burn for another year or two."

sorry but i dont buy that. if u got the fuel, u should burn. and if the clover is so thick that its dominate, then weed wack it just before the heat of summer. i guess if that is what u mean by mowing stage, then yea mow it. but nuthin in the rule book that says u cannot burn.

ill be so bold as to say that in our little part of the universe, one ONLY needs to burn, and eventually, one would have a prairie. if you dont believe me, read a book called "miracle under the oaks'

froggy

Here is a link that might be useful: miracle under the oaks

Froggy's probably right. However, fire (and the timing of the fire) does affect what and how the prairie progresses (what plants dominate and how fast,etc). I always found white dutch clover to survive mild fires (like burning a small pile of leaves)...I haven't ever had a problem in my "prairie" with it (so I suggested roundup, knowing that it does control it in my perennial beds when it threatens to spread).

Round Up only works in certain temperature ranges, if what I have been told is correct. To apply round up if the temp is less than 60, or more than 80, is a waste of Round-Up and time. But I may be wrong. April