wildflowers

jrby

I planted some wildflowers in a border, and they are flowering really well now.

what should i do with them once they finish flowering, deadhead them or cut them rght back to the soil?

MOTM

jrby wrote: »

I planted some wildflowers in a border, and they are flowering really well now.

what should i do with them once they finish flowering, deadhead them or cut them rght back to the soil?

Let them reseed, cut them back and remove the cuttings after a.fortnight...allowing time for the seed to fall onto the soil for next year. I'll be cutting mine early august once yellow rattle has reseeded.

vistafinder

MOTM wrote: »

Let them reseed, cut them back and remove the cuttings after a.fortnight...allowing time for the seed to fall onto the soil for next year. I'll be cutting mine early august once yellow rattle has reseeded.

Is there much to getting started I intend to set some?

Much prep needed?

Time of year to set?

and any other tips would be great.

MOTM

vistafinder wrote: »

Is there much to getting started I intend to set some?

Much prep needed?

Time of year to set?

and any other tips would be great.

Sorry for the slow reply. As I'm learning the hard way, 3 years in, allow plenty of time to clear the spot, allow unwanted seedlings to emerge, clear them again and repeat. If you don't do this, grass and buttercup will plague you in a few years.

Planting and cutting times depend on what you plant, but I but at the start of august and again in October. take away cuttings each time as you want the soil to NOT be fertile.

First year I had red clover, mustard, corn marigold and then smaller amounts of others like poppies, ox eye daisy, cornflower etc.

The daisy and clover are still surviving as are ragged robin. The others didn't. Lots of grass in it this year.

However, I planted yellow rattle last October. It is a semi parasite feeding on grass and clover roots and over time, should spread where I let it and keep the grass at bay. I hope.

The yellow rattle is reseeding nicely already and should make it easier to successfully reintroduce other flowers in the next few years. We'll see.

I'm resisting the temptation to lawn it for a few years yet.

peadar76

I have a wildflower meadow. It has plenty of dasies and poppies but is however dominated by grass. I think the soil is too fertile. I read somewhere that the soil needs to be fairly poor for a sucessful wildflower meadow. I think the reason being that the wildflowers will grow anywhere but grass won't thrive in poor ground. I'm going to stick with it but it looks like the grass is always going to dominate

looksee

some of the wildflower mixtures are bulked out with grass, so you need to be aware of that.

MOTM

I didn't buy a mix. I bought seeds for flowers and clover only. The grass was there despite my initial attempt at clearing the ground. So clear the ground properly and plant yellow rattle to weaken grass if necessary. Always take away cuttings to reduce soil fertility.

Day Lewin

A plea - some packets of "wildflower mixture" sold in hardware shops etc. actually contain imported seed. Even if a British cowslip looks like a local one, their DNA may not be the same. Best practice is to source seeds from the same county you are in, or nearest.

If you want to see what an Irish "wildflower meadow" should look like, take a look at the dune grassland next time you are near a beach, or the roadside verges in some places. There is usually some grass present and it is very short; also it is generally quite limy, so it is alkaline and very well drained.

Plenty of clover and Birdsfoot-trefoil are helpful for soil fertility and bees. If you see aggressive weeds like dandelion, creeping buttercup, or dock, remove them by hand.

Your best result is likely to be the restoration of the traditional flora of your area - the seed bank in the soil itself may naturally re-emerge if the conditions are right!!