How to grow a wildflower meadow from seed

How to grow a wildflower meadow from seed. Growing flowers from seed is surprisingly satisfying, particularly if the seed mix contains a combination of species. It means that you have to wait and see what grows where. It’s fascinating.

When to sow wildflower seeds

The best time of year for sowing wildflower seeds is autumn. Many of our native species need a period of frost followed by warmth to kick-start the seeds into growth.

Wildflower seed mixes can be sown in spring but some plants may not germinate straight away.

Sow directly into the ground where you want the plants to grow.

Storing wildflower seed

Wildflower seed should be stored in a cool dark place until you are ready to sow it.

Preparing the ground for wild flower seed

If your garden soil is rich in nutrients, remove as much of it as you can and replace it with Low Nutrient Topsoil.

Dig the soil to a depth of at least 15cm.

Remove every piece of vegetation – leaves, roots, visible seed heads – everything. You don’t want them to decompose and add nutrients to the soil

Rake the soil several times until it forms a nice fine tilth. It should look a bit like the topping on an apple crumble.

How to sow wildflower seeds

Sow the seeds where you want them to grow. No need to mess around with seed trays, pricking out seedlings or transplanting young plants

The recommended rate for Meadowmat wild flower seed is 3 grams per square metre.

Be careful not to sow seeds too thickly – the plants will need plenty of room to grow.

Sprinkle the seed as evenly as possible on top of the soil.

No need to cover wildflower seeds – some them actually need light to help them germinate

Lightly water your newly sown seed – be careful not to wash them away!

Watering

For best results, keep the soil and seeds moist until the plants have germinated and are well established.

Weeding a seeded wildflower meadow

No matter how carefully you have prepared your soil, you will get some weeds appear. The problem is identifying them.

If you have sown only one species of wildflower it’ll be easy to spot imposters

In a wildflower mix such as Meadowmat it’s best to wait until the plants are big enough to identify and then remove any unwanted plants by hand

Alternatives to seeding

A quicker and more reliable way of starting a wildflower area is by using pre-grown wild flower matting. This is simply unrolled onto prepared ground and watered until it established.

Wildflower matting gives instant coverage and suppresses any annual weed seeds in your soil – so virtually no weeding.