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Planting
Plant crimson clover over perennial grasses. The first time you plant crimson clover, you should plant a coated seed that has been inoculated with Rhizobium bacteria. This bacteria is required for the clover to bind nitrogen and enrich the soil. If your soil does not already have this bacteria, the clover plants will not do well. Crimson clover can be lightly disked to a depth of 1/4 inches. Protect it from grazing until it is about 6 to 8 inches tall. If you wish to have the crimson clover reseed itself, you will have to protect it from grazing somewhat when the clover is in full bloom. This will give the flowers enough time to produce their large hard-coated seeds. After the seeds drop, you can return the clover to grazing status.
Texas A&M University Findings
Texas A&M University performed tests on crimson clover varieties including Dixie, Auburn, Columbus, Flame and Tibee. These tests evaluated for last grazing date, as well as for hard-seed production and reproduction of seedlings the following year. In this test Flame, Dixie and Tibee had higher flower rates and higher weight of seeds per flower. In the final analysis of these tests, it was determined that Flame and Auburn had the best reseeding rate, though Auburn seed is not commercially available. It was also determined that grazing can be allowed through April 15 with no detrimental effect on reseeding.
AU Sunrise Crimson Clover
Auburn University and the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station developed "AU Sunrise" crimson clover and ran extensive tests with it. They compared its performance to other crimson clovers and determined that AU Sunrise performed very well in forage production as well as in reseeding. This cultivar has been tested as forage for goats and white-tailed deer and is undergoing more thorough testing for general use as a winter forage crop.
Dixie Crimson Clover
The Dixie reseeding crimson clover was developed for the South. It thrives in the conditions present from Georgia south, and west to the eastern half of Texas. In testing by the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station and Auburn University, Dixie performed second only to AU Sunrise in reseeding. Both Dixie and Sunrise produced good-quality forage.