Although it can persist up to 6 years under ideal conditions, it's usually treated as a biennial. Alsike is particularly well adapted to the Northeast and survives winters in most of New England. It is less successful in areas of protracted summer heat. It prefers a fertile clay or heavy silt soil but does well wherever there is adequate moisture. In fact, it can survive water logging that would kill most other crops and if established will grow in standing water.
Red clover is the most widely adapted of the true clovers.
Maximum yields of red clover are achieved on well-drained soils with a pH of 6.0 or higher, but red clover can be grown on heavy soils or those with a more acid pH with reduced yields. For best results it is recommended to sow red clover in conjunction with a forage grass such as orchardgrass. Flowering early, red clover is also known as double-cut red clover since two or more hay crops can be harvested each year. Arlington was developed through joint efforts of the USDA Agricultural Experiment Station and Research Division of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Arlington is resistant to bean and yellow mosaic virus and is moderately resistant to northern anthracnose.