Growing wildflowers

[Colarris]

Ive purchased a number of packets of wildflower mix seeds but never, ever have any grown. Is there a secret to growing them?

[lizard orchid]

Originally Posted by Colarris

Ive purchased a number of packets of wildflower mix seeds but never, ever have any grown. Is there a secret to growing them?

I have my best luck with wild flower seed by growing it in pots. Also many species need frost action to stimulate germination. I remember sowing Cowslip seed late one year and it did not come up until the following year after it had frost action.

Brian Laney Botanist Northamptonshire.

[IanS]

If you are having trouble with growing from seed you can get hold of plug plants which should start you off.

As for seeds I have managed to get them growing but I didnt have to do anything particular. I did autumn sow them though so maybe that is the secret as Brian suggests?

[metalfish]

Time of year--Late spring or autumn.

The most important bit is preperation, sounds off puting but please don't be.
Wildflowers (& grasses if yours is a mix between the two) need poor nutrient levels and a lack of competition from the more vigerous grasses you get in your average lawn.

If your after creating a mini meadow (flower & grass seed mix)
1. take off the top inch or two of the soil/ turf of the area to be sown (sounds hard but is ESSENTIAL). This removes competing grasses/ weeds and nutrient
2. Give the area a bit of a rake ( to look look the top of a rhubarb crumble)
3. empty your seeds into a bowl & give'm a stir so they're mixed up.
4. Scatter your seed around the bare patch- imagine your feeding chickens and are scattering seeds out everywhere. Sand added into your bowl of seed helps you see where you've scattered & avoids bare patches.
5. Lightly rake over the area to cover the seed up
6. Water
7. Now the boring bit that no-one wants to do coz they want instant results but it makes such a BIG difference for years to come....Mow it every time the new meadow reaches 3-4 inches for the first year (yes 1 whole year) and ALWAYS rake off the cuttings. This will kill off annual weeds & make your desired plnts grow good roots
8. Now the easy life...year on year mow once in early spring (rake off cuttings)then cut it all back in late summer when everything has seeded ( let cuttings lie for a day or three to shed the last of their seeds then rake off)

If you leave your cuttings where they fall then you will gradually build up the nutrient/ food levels in the soil, this'll encourage more bully'ing lawn grasses/ nettles/ brambles and other plants that'll out compete your lovely wildflowers

If your mix is just pure wildflower seed for your beds then just
1. lift some of your topsoil in the area you want to sow,
then follow steps 2 to 6 above


I used to work on a wildflower farm/ nursery so I could possibly bore you for ages! The sowing in pots suggestion is absolutely fine- could be quite stunning if you had long trough pots or a tin bath or what ever, just mix in some gravel and use pots with drainage holes-- or put holes in yourself

Good luck & give it a go, growing plants is all trial and error & plants want to grow, we never used to pamper the plants at work & they grew like the clappers so just go for it & enjoy

[Meta menardi]

I have grown Cowslip from seed collected from plants in the rough area of the garden. I put them in the fridge for about a week, sowed them on a seed tray and the resulting seedlings got moved on and put in bigger pots etc. I got something like 200 plants! I then plug planted them where I wanted them, they are still going strong 6-7 years later. The garden did used to be a limestone quarry, so the soil is thin and very limey.

[Colarris]

Many thanks all. I'm going to have to grow them in containers so should I follow any of the points you make metalfish? Obviously I wont be able to mow it though.

[metalfish]

Hey Collaris,
Growing in pots should be easy, you've still not said if you have pure flower mix or grass & flower mix but no worries. I've not grown wildflower mix in pots but I guess its pretty much like growing in the ground
1 If its pure flowers just use a general compost, mix in some sand/ gravel/ small stones out of your garden to help with drainage,
2 mix up your seed in a bowl & scatter over the surface, the seed pack should hopefully tell you what area the packet should cover so work out / guess how much'll go on one pot- you don't need to be precise
3 scatter a thin layer of soil over the seed- just enough to cover the seed so you cant see it
4 water with a watering can ( once the plants are established then stand the pot on a tray & water from below, this'll encourage the roots to grow downwards), and keep the surface damp (not soping) specially after the seed has germinated
5 dastardly slugs & snails'll now be a problem, you could try vasaline or a copper collar round the pot, or cover the pot in some netting, holding it up on sticks. Take it off once the seedlings become bigger
6 Put the pot in a sunny or lightly shaded place- keep it watered- once established these plants won't want to have soggy roots all the time so only water once the top cm or so goes dry
7 watch it grow!

if it's grass & seed do the same as above just cut the grass back with scissors/ secauters ( can't spell that word) till you see the plants starting to grow.

8 once things'v flowered leave the heads on to make seed then collect the seed when its ready ( in general when its brown) including the grass seed & save it all in a paper bag in a dark & cool drawer or in the fridge & you'll have more seed for next year/ to give away ( if its got cowslips in the mix then like someone else said, stick the seed pack in the fridge for a while- frost programmes the seed to germinate- then sow the stuff)
9 once everything is done seeding cut it all back to an inch or two, put the pot somewhere where you wont neglect it, water it occasionally so it doesnt go dry as a bone & watch it spring up next year

9 Stick a photo on here of your pots in bloom for us to see

[Colarris]

Many thanks, I'll give it a go and tell you all the results.