Wildflower Seeds (Floral Lawn)

Wildflower Seeds - Basic Sowing Instructions

• First you must prepare area to be sown
• Do not sow directly into lawn, meadow or weedy soil
• Apply weed killer. 2 or 3 applications may be necessary
• Note: Please avoid chemical use in gardens as much as possible & follow organic practices to protect our wildlife
• Wildflowers grow better on soils with a lower fertility. This allows them to out compete grass
• When preparing area it's is best to NOT cultivate the area - as this will encourage further weed & grass germination
• Sow seeds between March/April & August/September
• Seeds will start to germinate 6 – 12 weeks after sowing
• Meadow will start to flower 8 – 16 weeks after first sowing
• This is Pure Seed (No Chaff in Seed Mix)
• When sowing: Sow 1 square metre at a time - walk at a fast pace tossing the seeds as you go
• Take great care to ensure an even seed distribution
• After sowing, rake seed into soil to cover them & prevent birds from eating them
• Water in seeds after sowing After sowing it is important to remove any weeds that grow

Floral Lawn - Cutting Instructions

• In the first year, do not cut until August or September or later to allow the annuals to finish flowering, 
• Then strim away the taller annual growth.
• In year two, cut to maintain as a lawn. 
• Year 3: You can now use a mower, (not mulch mower) to keep the meadow short
• Aim to allow three main flowering periods from May to early June, from late June and July and again in Autumn. Between each flowering phase the lawn needs to be cut. 
• Floral lawns will then on require cutting every 4 to 6 weeks when growth reaches 10cm or just before a flush of flower is finished
• You should remove the cuttings. Set the mower to the highest setting, cut and then re-cut with the mower setting down to about 10cm. The aim is to keep the flora short and by regular cutting to encourage it to flower.
• If using Mulching Mowers rake the soil very well at the end of the season to remove all the dead debris. 
• Floral lawns should occasionally be allowed to flower every three years with the aim of allowing the species to set fresh seed. 
• This will require leaving a 6 to 8 week gap, with no cutting in late May to July for spring species and sometimes in July to August for later flowering species

Floral Lawn - Maintenance

•  WEEDING: Vigorous grasses should be spot weeded
  When ordering a floral lawn we can supply common bent grass and other fine grass species according to your soil type.
• Gap creation: Each year you should consider gap creation
• This is basically exposing bare soil throughout the meadow and re-seeding these areas to encourage a more dense floral display
• You can re-seed with seeds you collected from the previous year or buy more seeds
• Yellow rattle is the best choice for gap creation as it aids meadow establishment
• If grasses are taking over, then heavier clumps of grass should be spot weeded out
• If the grass growth is slow then you will only need to cut the meadow once each year in August or September
• Ideally wait for flower heads to die back to maximise the number of seeds harvested at time of cutting