Conservation & Ecology “
Always use a reputable seed supplier and be prepared to pay for a good product - this is definitely an area where, if you fall short on quality, you'll regret it in the long term
others. However, most human interactions tend to result in that balance being knocked off kilter. Identifying what factor is the cause, or the potential cause when establishing a new wildflower area, and mitigating its effect, is the key to success. Take into account that one should provide
as weed-free a seedbed as possible, and the tilth should be sufficiently fine to ensure good contact with the seed; that the soil temperature is above 10°C (though some plants such as Yellow Rattle require a period of vernalisation to break their dormancy) to ensure that you obtain good germination and that adequate moisture is available to ensure that the new plants get off to a good start. Always use a reputable seed supplier and
be prepared to pay for a good product - this is definitely an area where, if you fall short on quality, you’ll regret it in the long term. One needs to consider the limiting factors to obtaining the balanced wildflower meadow one seeks. These, as indicated previously, are
Scarifying in the autumn and, on some occasions, in the spring can also thin the sward down and encourage a greater diversity of flowering plants; all arisings need to be removed
”
This picture was taken in November 2014 and shows a four hectare field recently sown with a wildflower seed mixture
108 I PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2015
soil type, pH, hydrology, nutrient availability, location, altitude, aspect and previous management. Selecting the correct species mixture will
mitigate against everything but nutrient availability and previous management. The information in the table goes a long way to helping you select the correct mixture for the situation but, if you are unsure, ask your seed supplier; they should have a good understanding. A tip here is if they refer to their seeds using the correct botanical names, e.g. Centaurea nigra as opposed to Common Knapweed, then they are probably pretty clued up. I have to own up to forgetting the common English name for most species, which can be a bit embarrassing on some occasions! Nutrient availability and previous management are closely related factors because a lot of human activity alters the nutrient status. As a general rule, wildflowers prefer a low nutrient status. This enables species with specialist niches to become established more easily and prevents plants such as Broad-leaved Dock, Creeping Thistle and Common Nettle that have adaptations to enable them to benefit disproportionately from higher nutrient situations. Unfortunately, most people conceive that
a wildflower area is an unmanaged area. As you can see from my explanation of the history of the evolution of the wildflower meadow, this is very definitely not the case. Classically, a wildflower meadow would have followed the following pattern:
- Hay is cut in mid-summer
- The stubble will green up within a couple of days and traditionally livestock, in low numbers, would have grazed it until they started poaching the ground, at which point they would have been housed. Depending on the circumstance, this can be before or after Christmas.
- Livestock are excluded from the spring onwards whilst the next crop grows
This approach does not allow nutrients to accrue and ensures that they are in short supply, enabling more diverse specialist species that are not strong competitors to become established. There are some things that one can do to
mitigate against too many available nutrients. Grasses can quite often become too large a component of the sward. Yellow Rattle, along with Eyebrights, are hemi- parasites that fix to the roots of the grass plants and steal some of their nutrients, thereby reducing the vigour of the grasses. In many situations, it is not possible to
graze the areas, although more managers are using livestock to graze the aftermath later in the year. This is good practice because it can also open up the sward and enable opportunistic plants to become established. If this isn’t possible then areas need to be mown and the arisings removed. Scarifying in the autumn and, on some
occasions, in the spring can also thin the sward down and encourage a greater diversity of flowering plants; again all arisings need to be removed. In some circumstances, it may be
necessary to remove the nutrient-rich topsoil and expose the nutrient-poor subsoil. Establishment will be very slow, but it will prevent competitive plants from becoming a serious problem. This can be done by scraping the surface clear with a digger or through deep-ploughing, which inverts the soil, to a maximum depth of 90cm. Expert advice should be sought for large areas to ensure that the best cultural practice is undertaken and the most appropriate species mix is selected or, in some circumstances, created.
John Handley is Technical Manager for Maxwell Amenity. BASIS No. AR/E/6794/ICMAT
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