Irish Wildflowers Seeds (Butterfly & Bees Mix)

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

Butterfly & Bees - Specific Sowing Instructions

• Sowing rate: Approx. 1 grams per metre (This sowing rate is for pure seed / No Chaff Mix)
• This mixture includes chaff to bulk up mix & aid even distribution

Butterfly & Bees - Cutting Instructions

• Year 1: Cut once at the end of year one. Remove the cuttings at this point
• Year 2: If no grass is found growing in the meadow, then just cut again once, in October
• If grass is strong, then cut the meadow back 3 times in the 2nd year. Cut to approx. 8 to 15cm in height
• This will prevent your wildflowers from being smothered out by the grass
• You can add yellow rattle to the meadow in year two (see gap creation)
• Year 3: This year the colour in the wildflower meadow will be muted as the perennials still need to establish
• Cut the same way as in year 2. If grass is strong, cut meadow 3 times. Cut in April, July & again in September
• Year 4: From this point onwards, only cut the meadow once a year in Autumn

Butterfly & Bee Mix - Maintenance

• 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