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How To Grow Wildflowers

Wildflowers are easy to grow, maintain and perfect for attracting pollinators. They can brighten up any area and play an essential role in reducing greenhouse gasses and helping to regulate flooding. True wildflower meadows are made up of perennial flowers that come back year after year, supporting a huge range of wildlife, especially bees. while also brightening up any area.

You can introduce wildflowers in a range of areas:
Your whole lawn
A section of your garden
In raised beds
In window boxes
In plant pots
In your allotment

How to grow wildflowers

Find a location

Before you start, you need to choose where you will plant your wildflower meadow. The only real need these flowers have been for the area to be open and sunny. If your planting area is shaded, then you should look at planting woodland wildflowers as they will be more likely to thrive

Prepare the ground

Believe it or not, wildflowers grow best in low-quality soil, so do not use compost or fertiliser – this will allow grasses to grow that out-compete your flowers. If your soil is rich, then you may need to remove the top 3-6 inches of soil. You need to create a fine top layer of soil to sow the seeds.  Clear the ground of any existing vegetation you don’t want to keep, to create areas of bare soil where you can sow.

Choose your seeds

When selecting your seeds always use UK native seeds to ensure that you aren’t introducing any alien species. Lots of wildflower seed mixes include yellow rattle seed. Yellow rattle is parasitic to grass, so will stop grass from growing, giving your wildflower meadow a much better chance of establishing. 

Plant your seeds

It is best to plant in autumn or spring. You will need roughly 5g of seed per square metre. Scatter the seeds across the ground, trying to get even coverage. Then rake the soil and walk back over the area or pat it down so that the seeds are in contact with the soil. Keep the area well-watered until plants are established.

Beware of birds

Birds will love to eat the wildflower seeds, so some gardeners like to put up netting while the seeds are germinating to help give the wildflowers their best chance.

Looking after your wildflower.

Autumn-planted wildflowers will start to show in spring, whereas spring-planted will show in early summer. In your first year of growing, you need to cut your wildflowers back in midsummer and leave the cuttings for a few days so any seeds can be dropped back into the meadow. After the first year, do not mow or cut back your wildflowers between early April to late September. You can mow and weed in autumn once you have enjoyed months of wildflowers. 

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