Extra Rich Nectar & Pollen Wildflower Meadow Mix Medium/Heavy Soil 20g
Extra Rich Nectar & Pollen Native Wildflower Meadow Mix Medium/Heavy Soil 20g
Suitable for Medium/Heavy Soil
20g sufficient for 6 square metres
A carefully balanced mix of native wild species likely to succeed in this type of soil (as the sward establishes, some species will thrive more than others, finding a natural balance of their own with time), in a ratio 20:80 wildflowers to wild grasses. These wild grasses are non-aggressive and always found with wildflowers to produce good permanent swards as in ancient meadows. These wildflowers will provide forage for a huge range of different species of bees and other pollinators.
20g: £3.65
% Species Wildflowers
0.5 Achillea millefolium - Yarrow
0.5 Betonica officinalis - Betony
2.5 Centaurea nigra - Lesser Knapweed
0.5 Clinopodium vulgare - Wild Basil
2.0 Daucus carota - Wild Carrot
0.5 Eupatorium cannabinum - Hemp Agrimony
1.0 Knautia arvensis - Field Scabious
1.0 Leucanthemum vulgare - Oxeye Daisy
2.0 Lotus corniculatus - Bird's-Foot Trefoil
0.5 Lythrum salicaria - Purple Loosestrife
1.0 Origanum vulgare - Wild Marjoram
1.0 Plantago lanceolata - Ribwort Plantain
2.5 Prunella vulgaris - Selfheal
0.5 Pulicaria dysenterica - Common Fleabane
3.0 Trifolium pratense - Wild Red Clover
1.0 Viccia cracca - Tufted Vetch
% Wild Grasses
7.0 Agrostis capillaris - Common Bent
35.0 Cynosurus cristatus - Crested Dogstail
24.5 Festuca rubra juncea - Slender Creeping Red Fescue
3.5 Phleum bertolonii - Smaller Cat's Tail
10.0 Festuca ovina - Sheep's Fescue
Sowing the Wildflower POLLEN & NECTAR mix
20gms packet of seed will be sufficient to sow at least 6 square metres.
The best time to sow is Spring or Autumn as the soil tends to stay moist, but Summer is also fine if you can remember to water the germinating seeds.
Find a patch in a ‘wild’ part of your garden which is not too highly fertile and without a perennial weed problem, or trade a piece of lawn, incorporating the grass in late winter, and repeat cultivation to achieve a medium tilth, then roll the soil both before and after sowing to create a firm seedbed. Or prepare by hand, either using a mulch or forking in old grass and removing any weeds to produce the tilth, then raking and treading a few times to produce a firm seedbed.
Broadcast the seed by hand (preferably on a still day) perhaps dividing the seed into lots and sowing the plot in sections to ensure even coverage. Then roll or tread the seed into the bed which gives good seed/soil contact. Lastly, water in well with gentle shower pressure to avoid displacing seed
First year aftercare:
Many meadow perennials are slow to germinate and won’t flower in the first season. Annual weeds will instead become apparent, and these can be controlled by cutting/mowing, making sure the cut is no lower than 2-3”.
Second and subsequent years’ aftercare:
Now treated as a traditional meadow grassland. This should not be cut from Spring through to August or September, to give all the species’ opportunity to flower. After flowering, cut/mow the sward, but no lower than 2-3” from the ground, and leave the cuttings to dry for between 1-7 days to allow it to shed its seed. Then gently rake off the dry hay left behind to allow unhampered growth till Winter.
Photo:courtesy Emorsgate
