# Durana,Patriot clover?



## redka (Apr 6, 2010)

I have not tried these clovers yet. Been thinking about it.
In nine years I've planted clover seed twice and have a good stand every year.
Crimson and arrowleaf annual clovers have done well in my plots. They die in June, but reseed and germinate when I disk and plant rye/wheat/oats in September. So I have clover October into May. 
So, my question is....do deer eat your Durana and/or Patriot perennial clover in June, July, August, September?


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## robertyb (Apr 6, 2010)

I do not like it at all after having Durana for 5 years now on my club. The turkeys walk right through it without feeding on it. I do not think they like it. The deer feed on it OK but concentrate more on plots planted in Oats or wheat. It grows well and lasts a long time is the only upside to it I have seen.

One of my buddies planted his 6 plots in Durana for 3 years and then changed them back to Ladino clover. He agrees with me that the turkeys did not like the Durana. He says he sees more deer and turkeys on his plot now that he changed back over.

When our plots were in Ladino every turkey we killed had a craw full of clover. Now it is rare to see much if any in their craws.


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## BREAK'N WINGS (Apr 6, 2010)

I've heard alot about this clover.........I havent ever planted it or carried it, Curious to see where this goes I might be changin a few things or thoughts


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## redka (Apr 7, 2010)

I just did a search(shoulda done in the first), and found this post by Canuck5.

"Durana acts like a perennial above a line that stretches from Macon, Ga to Dallas, Tx. Below that line it acts more like an annual, depending on the type of soil. I'm right on that line and do love Durana"

So, if it kinda dies back in locations south of that line, which is where I am, then no point in me planting it. It's considerably more expensive than annual clovers.

Anyone in the south have deer eating their durana in July, August, September?


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## Jeff Phillips (Apr 7, 2010)

Most clover is fairly dormant in the South is dormant in the hottest months.

I have a lot of Durana on our place. The deer keep it mowed until it starts to struggle in late June. It comes back year after year in September. We are above the line mentioned in the earlier post.

I have been pleased with it and have seen some pretty dramatic increasess in the weights of our deer since we went to Durana.

We converted several additional plots to all clover this past fall.


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## Canuck5 (Apr 7, 2010)

*I might sound like a Durana Salesman .....*

But I'm not ... LOL.  My Durana which is between Macon and Columbus has gone dormant in the summer months.  It browns up, then with the first rain in September, it comes back.  I have a test plot here in my backyard, in Marietta, that is green all year long.

I agree with Jeff.  The deer harvested on our property down there, last year, have increased body size, over the previous years.  I would say that more than 30% of the deer that were harvested, were taken off of Durana clover plots.  Some others were taken off of a wheat/crimson/arrowleaf clover plot.  The balance were taken early in the season on acorns.

Right now, my smaller Durana plots are clipped, lip high.  The larger plots have more deer tracks and deer droppings, than you would believe.

I turkey hunted this last weekend and I hunted the Durana plots 1/2 the time and the turkey were definitely there.  Whether they were eating the clover or just in there bugging, I couldn't tell (I didn't ground check any turkeys, LOL).

Now, the ph of my plots are at 6.5, with all the other nutrients where they need to be.   I'm a believer that from a "taste" standpoint, for the deer, a ph of 6.5 is more attractive to them, than a ph of 5.0, so that could make some difference.   These are just my opinions.

Now, whether Durana is dramtically better than any other clover, for a food plot, I can't tell you.   My preference for Durana, is because it's long lasting and very competitive with weeds and grasses.   It's also designed to grow in Georgia red clay, for the cattle industry.


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## easbell (Apr 7, 2010)

I've heard that you can plant it up until May. Has anyone done a spring planting?


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## Canuck5 (Apr 7, 2010)

*I'd save your seed & or money .....*

and plant it in the fall.  Durana is slow to get started and I'm afraid that the heat of the summer would just kill it off.   The other problem you'll have with a spring planting, is battling weeds as well.   You'll be happier with a fall planting of Durana in a mix of crimson clover and a cereal grain like wheat or cereal rye.


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## Jeff Phillips (Apr 7, 2010)

One other comment.

A lot of people have plowed up their Durana in August or September of it's first year. It looks like the clover is dead. DO NOT go by the looks of the plot during hot weather. It will come on strong when it cools down.


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## BornToHuntAndFish (Apr 7, 2010)

Gadget on the forum has good experiences with Durana clover too.


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## Pineyrooter (Apr 7, 2010)

I've had excellent results with Durana. In my opinion, the key is correct fertilize and lime to really maximize the benefit. I've had much better results during spring planting using a grain drill vs other methods. The drill sinks the seed in the soil so the root develops deeper and sooner and therefore tends to survive hot dry weather better. Lime is the key. In most cases lime is more important than fertilize if the PH is way out of range. Once you get the PH right, the fertilize can get to work. My .02


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## smitty (Apr 8, 2010)

*Durana clover*

I cant say enuff good things about this type of clover,it lasts and if you keep it mowed,limed as well as hit it two times a year with 0-20-20 it will last ...Mine in dec was 8 inches high all that cold weather and xtreme browsing in Jan sent it to ground level,brown and dead looking.With the rain ,warm temps and some 0-20-20 its back running almost a foot again.I add a few hundred pounds of lime in the fall as well as spring where the ph level is always consistant and the feterlizer goes right to work .The deer ,turkey as well as hogs and rabbits love it, it has over 20% protein and will withstand all the grazing the animals give it.Great product that I will continue to use....


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## emmett collins (Apr 20, 2010)

*Durana*

Durana was developed to survive harsh conditions. I think the platability has been taken out of it because if the deer have a choice they will eat something else.


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## killa86 (Apr 20, 2010)

easbell said:


> I've heard that you can plant it up until May. Has anyone done a spring planting?



save your money and plant it in the fall or plant it in the middle of february


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## killa86 (Apr 20, 2010)

i have a small durana plot that i had between 4 and 9 bucks in all spring till summer. Come fall though nothing seems to eat it very much until the end of december not sure why. ive decided to not mow mine this year to see if the height and moisture content will allow it to survive during the hotter months. i do know that the bucks must crave the protein level. definitely get the ph right and fertilizer right or your wasting your time. now someone said something about the turkeys i will have to agree i havent seen much activity in the clover by the turkeys. i know they like the seed heads but they havent messed with the clover itself. i will have to watch this.i didnt know they actually liked the clover. Durana does survive and produce lots of tonnage.i plan to overseed mine with trophy radishes during the fall this year


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## redka (Apr 20, 2010)

killa86 said:


> i have a small durana plot that i had between 4 and 9 bucks in all spring till summer. Come fall though nothing seems to eat it very much until the end of december not sure why.


If there are oak trees around, they'll be eating acorns, especially white oak.


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## Ace1313 (Apr 21, 2010)

I have several Durana plots on my farm.  They are used more in the early part of the year and late in the season.  I plant mulitiple different varieties in all my plots I like to lay them out in thirds with a cereal grain, clover/chickory mix and corn or soybeans depending on the rotation.  The first plot of durana I planted 5 years ago is still kicking strong as of this year.  I have seen a few turkeys in it but the prefer the crimson that was planted this year more so.


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## EastALHunter (Apr 24, 2010)

*Barenbrug International....*



redka said:


> I have not tried these clovers yet. Been thinking about it.
> In nine years I've planted clover seed twice and have a good stand every year.
> Crimson and arrowleaf annual clovers have done well in my plots. They die in June, but reseed and germinate when I disk and plant rye/wheat/oats in September. So I have clover October into May.
> So, my question is....do deer eat your Durana and/or Patriot perennial clover in June, July, August, September?



the world's largest seed company has introduced a perennial red clover developed in conjunction with the University of Florida.  It survived the 25 year AND 100 year drought at Auburn University's Ag Experiment station in Crossville, AL.  It also survived 2 foot of snow in Idaho at one of the seed production farms.

Perennial red clover will tolerate much lower pH and actually has much more by-pass protein for antler development than white clovers.  This perennial red clover is extremely drought tolerant (hence the development by University of Florida) and could very well dominate the food plot market in the next few years.

White clovers are more palatable than red clovers but we have a trick to get them to eat the red clover.  Persistence is the problem with some white clovers.  Barenbrug has a large-leafed white clover (and I mean quarter to half-dollar sized leaves) that ranked #1 in a 5-year trial at the University of Kentucky with Patriot in the middle of the pack and Durana down the list.

If you are interested in where you can get this new red clover send me a private message and I'll get you an email address.


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## redka (Apr 24, 2010)

Sounds interesting. Will be listening to see how it does. I'm gonna stay with arrowleaf and crimson for a while. Plan to replenish the plots with some crimson seed in Sept.


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