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Seed
Mixture Specifications:
Origin: Native Irish Origin, Wildflower Seed Mixture. EC10All types of soil, Clay, Loam, Sand,
Light Soil and Heavy Soil
Moisture Level: Dry, Normal, Moist.
pH range: Best between 5.5 >7.5
Aspect: Sunny, light shade and not deeply shaded.
Morphology:
Life Cycle: Annual / Biennial /
Perennial.
Height Range: <30cm to >200cm
Flowering Period: March to May, June to August.
Fertility Range: Will
grow in very fertile soil to poor.
Wintergreen: Yes
The main species which should dominate and persist in this
mixture:
Alexanders, Burdock, Cow-Parsley,
Feverfew, Foxglove,
Mullein, Hedge Garlic Mustard, Teasel, Upright Hedge Parsley,
Wild Angelica, Wild Carrot, Bladder Campion, Bluebell, Field
Scabious, Hemp Agrimony, Lesser Knapweed, Meadowsweet, Ox-eye Daisy, Red
Campion, Red Clover, Ribwort Plantain, Sorrel, St Johnswort, Yarrow,
Yellow Flag Iris, Dames Violet,
Annual
Species: Yellow Rattle, Corn Chamomile, Corn Marigold, Corn Poppy, Corncockle, Cornflower,
Scented Mayweed, Redshank,
Biennial Species:
Alexanders, Burdock, Cow-Parsley,
Feverfew, Foxglove,
Mullein, Hedge Garlic Mustard, Opium
Poppy, Teasel, Upright Hedge Parsley,
Wild Angelica, Wild Carrot, Welsh Poppy.
Rare, unusual, and feature species: Greater
Celandine, White Bedstraw, Columbine, Purple Toadflax.
Species which will grow if the conditions are ideal: Primrose
& Welsh Poppy. both require some shade to aid germination.
Species which will be affected by 'less' management: Yellow
Rattle, Ragged Robin.
Additional Mixtures which could be added: From our
nursery; The introduced Montbretia,
or if you have acres to cover in an area that is need of some nature
try, Cicerbita macrophylla, Compositae / Asteraceae, Common
Blue-sow-thistle, an
introduced annual from central Europe, very very rampant, non spiky,
tall, beautiful blue flower similar to Chicory. This plant will cover 50
yards in Tall Blue Flowers.
As seed: If
planting in and around saplings, once the saplings grow and provide
shade and leaf litter, then mixtures EC03 or EC04 can be under-planted.
Design
Notes: This mixture is not for small gardens
unless intended as it contains Cow Parsley and Teasel. However if cut to
control height this mixture has species which will flower at 60 to 120
cm
EC10
will suit Tidy Town Associations as it can be cut anytime, and if
cut to 20cm 6 or 8 weeks before the judges arrive it will have recovered
enough to be in full flower and still hide what ever it was intended to
hide.
Sowing Specification:
As Normal, roll or rake into surface to
keep out of reach from birds. Click
here for more details
Soil Preparation:
Normal, create fine tilt on seed bed, if clay, ensure a fine tilt or press the seed into clean soil.
Optimum Sowing Time: Late spring, early
autumn, when the soil is warm.
Sowing Conditions:
Normal, if on new clay or sticky soil a little extra soil improvement
will assist establishment
Sowing Method: By hand is recommended, if
using seed spreaders be careful to insure the small varieties of seed do
not drop to the bottom of the seed spreader and get sown all in the one
place. Can be Hydrasown.
Fertiliser: A slow release low nitrogen
mild dressing will assist germination. If very poor
fertility such as subsoil apply proprietary brand two weeks before
sowing. Powdered or liquid seaweed will aid germination.
Seed Sowing Rates:
Normal
sowing rate 'without added grass seed':1.5 to 3 grams per metre.
High sowing rate 'without added grass seed': Add 3 to 4 grams per metre.
Low sowing rate: None
Grass
seed or nurse crop requirement:
Nurse
Crop: No nurse crop is required.
Grass Seed Requirement: n/a, use Bent and
Fescue species
Sow with or without grasses: Either
Sowing rate with grasses: 2 to 5 grams per metre.
50% Flora / 50% grass seed, or up to 80% grass where the soil is has a
weed problem or where erosion may occur. Sow as low as 10% grasses for
clean sites.
If
sown without grasses: This mixture will not require a nurse crop.
Seed Specification:
Total number of seeds per gram:1958
In normal conditions (mainly in early Autumn and Spring) this mix should germinate 6 weeks
after sowing, from then on provided the sward is kept open and a 'Thatch' is not allowed develop, species will continue to germinate and emerge, through
to the third year.
Up to 80% of all seed should germinate in the first year.
Up to 95% of all species should germinate in 24 months.
Up to 95% of all species
should have flowered by the fourth year after sowing.
Performance:
Persistence if unmanaged: Medium /
High
Tolerance of Cutting: Medium / High after second year.
General Cutting Time: Do not cut in first
year until flowers have finished, from then on cut May, june or at the
end of summer.
Specific Cutting Time: From second year, either in May or June,
but must be cut once per year if Autumn. A strimmer will be ideal. Rake
and remove the cuttings
Management:
This
mixture is Biennial rich and will especially flower profusely in the
second year, some biennials will set seed and often vanish. If from the
fourth year onwards the biennials fail to re-appear, rake the soil after
an Autumn cut to encourage the seeds.
Once the sward is established, digging, spot spraying or weed wiping can
be used to eliminate problem species. Control weeds, especially Creeping
Buttercup, if Creeping Buttercup is present cut this meadow in May in
year two. The third year is the critical year to maintain this meadow as
scutch grass, creeping thistle, nettle and dock will try to dominate as
the growing conditions may be ideal for such unwanted species.
Most species in this mixture
are 'Browse' resistant.
A
General Description of Ecotype Range:
Ecotype seed mixtures are
designed to imitate natural ecologies found in specific situations.
Mixture EC10 contains species which grow on the byways of Ireland
especially in the North East, East and South, or in more fertile
sheltered situations in the West
The EC range is not intended as an exact copies of an Irish ecosystem but to represent floras that would otherwise take hundreds of years to develop
if 'nature' was left unaided.
This range of seed mixture is ideal for those concerned with encouraging wildlife and local biodiversity as
the plants will attract species suited to the ecology.
If these mixtures are suitable for your situation, they offer good value, contain some of the most exacting and unusual species and if
given time, develop into a diverse flora that will persist if properly maintained.
Professional
Ecologists:
Our 'Ecotype Flora Range' is intended as a
baseline 'non-locally' specific flora suitable for conservation across a
wide range of sites found in Ireland.
For further reading see: Seed
supply for Irish Habitats by classification. For seed mixtures by
percentage weight see Mixture
composition- Seed percentage. Seed
Treatments- Stratification, Scarification, Heat treatments and more.
Genetic
diversity- Seed Triggers.
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By Nature ©
Crettyard, Carlow, Ireland.
Telephone:
++ 353 (0)56 4442526
Email: info@wildflowers.ie
Web
Sites: www.wildflowers.ie
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