Heavy Clay Soils Wildflowers - All Questions

Hi Andrew, thank you for your question. Wildflower seeds can blow in the wind or migrate from wildlife to surrounding areas.

The safeness and suitability of sowing wildflowers in reach of animals is an issue, and whether consumption / ingestion of the flowers is of a huge concern.

Wildflowers such as Buttercups and Foxgloves are poisonous to animals and can be to humans and are present in all our wildflower mixes. Each of these wildflowers has minor to moderate toxicity and can prove fatal if consumed / ingested in any amount. Therefore, we would not recommend sowing any of our wildflower seed mixes, or any others, near your children or pets if you have concerns that they would consume them.

Animals have intelligent instincts and by using their scent can work out what is and what isn’t poisonous, so there is low risk of them wanting to snack on your wildflowers. However, if your livestock has a penchant for wolfing down wildflowers or any other garden flora it is best not to put anything in front of them that could potentially harm them.

Hi Charlie,

Thank you for your enquiry.

We would usually recommend our Heavy Clay Soils Wildflowers, for clay conditions such as this, as it contains a mix of wildflower species that have deep rooting properties and penetrate heavy clay soils and are also drought tolerant, making them ideal for such areas. However you can combine this mix with the flowering meadow mix if you wish, and both mixes should still grow, but for this type of soil condition, Heavy Clay Soils Wildflowers would probably be the best option.

Hi Catriona, it is important to ensure that the majority have been cleared prior to sowing wildflower seeds. Wildflowers are great, as in they love low nutrient soils and are not high maintenance and are pretty impressive to look at. However, there is some maintaining in order to keep the meadow going each year. As you know weeds, grow quite quickly so it is important to have good weed control in order to allow the wildflowers to establish, if not the weeds will just choke out the wildflowers. This mix contains grasses which help create a nursery for the wildflowers allowing them some protection from the weeds, but even grass isn't immune.

First, apply a weedkiller to the area prior to sowing and remove as much as possible. You could leave for a week or 2 to see if any return and then remove these manually, this won't be difficult as the roots will be shallow at this stage. Then once established, try to remove weeds as you spot them or treat with a selective herbicide, these can be applied to an existing meadow as they will only treat selected weeds.

At the end season, once the meadow has bloomed, cut back the meadow and remove any cuttings, each year you could add little seed or help the existing flowers self seed. A full, dense meadow will create less room for the weeds. We do have few interesting blogs on the website that you might be interested in.

Hi Lyndon,

You are right in looking at our Clay Soils Wildflowers ( https://thegrasspeople.com/heavy-clay-soils-wildflowers ), which are ideal for growing in these conditions.

Clearing the weeds is a great initial step to take; the next steps we advise are as follows:

● Remove the top 5-10cm of soil to reduce soil fertility
● Allow the area to cultivate for several weeks, and remove any weeds that may pop in the area during this time
● Do not be tempted to add topsoil, compost or fertiliser to the area - wildflowers prefer low-nutrient conditions
● After the cultivation period, ensure to remove stones or any other debris and rake the area to create a fine, friable and level seedbed
● Scatter the seed at a rate of 5g per m2
● Rake the seed so that it is in amongst the soil
● Water the just-sown wildflower seed well
● If sowing in drought conditions, water as required to keep the area moist in the first six weeks after sowing

You can read our full guide on how to sow wildflower seed here - https://thegrasspeople.com/sow-wildflower-seed/

Hi James,

There are two key times for sowing wildflower seeds: from mid-March to mid-May and mid-September to the end of October. Your wildflower seeds will germinate if the soil is warm and wet enough, with no additional frost or flooding.

We have a complete guide on this exact topic, which also talks about how to sow wildflower seeds perfectly:

- https://thegrasspeople.com/when-to-plant-wildflower-seeds/

Hi Dannie, thank you for your enquiry. If the fence creates a shadow and this part for the lawn is in the shade for most of the day, then we would recommend Shaded Area Wildflowers. It consists of annual and perennial wildflowers and grasses that will tolerate damp and shaded areas.

If you would like some advice on how to improve the drainage or how to prep and sow the seed, feel free to email us at [email protected]