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Wildflowers.ie
Update - 2012/13
We are open for business 2012/13
Please forgive the changes in
the web site as we move to a new web site
A Wildflower Growers Open Day
24th July 2013 , 100 places please book
There are many different ways to cut a meadow:
Please
remember, when browsing through
this web site 'cutting a meadow' describes many things, there are
different heights to cut a meadow, different times to cut a meadow and
different reason and species to cut a meadow for, DBN is working hard to bring
you the feed back from our customers.............
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Timing of Wildflower Meadow Cutting: |
| A meadow
usually requires to be cut and the dead grass and weeds removed as well
as raked over, some meadows don't, but nearly all require some cutting,
many meadows require more that on cut a year.
The first cut may be in
spring for some meadows, or in summer for others in autumn for the
tallest. The first cut can be in spring or summer or Autumn
depending on the meadow.
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First Cut: The first cut
can be in spring
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- 'low growing'
meadows: Low growing spring flowers can
start flowering in April. The first cut in any year should be before 21st April for spring flowers and 21 May for
summer flowers, cut even if early flowering plants are in flower,
treat these like lawn daisies, they will re-grow and re-flower, just don't cut too low..
Low growing spring flowers are then
allowed to flower until June when plants such as Ox-eye Daisy, White
Campion, Rattle,
Sorrel, Plantain and Trefoil flower.
- 'medium
height' meadows: The first cut is generally in April, for
further advice about an individual seed mixture refer to the
specifications attached to each seed mixture, these are found else
where on this site.
- 'tall
meadows': may require a cut in spring, because it didn't
get a cut last year or it may require a cut if there are species
that need to be cut in spring or the meadow mixture is sown on
grassy or weedy ground, what ever the reason there is advice on this
web site about specific cutting times, see the seed mixtures.
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| The second
or summer cut . |
- Give the 'low grow' meadow a
second cut mid June or July according to the species and give the 'medium
height' meadow another cut in mid summer to high summer
just as the first flush of flowers fade, but dont wait.
'Tall
meadows' require no cutting in summer unless specified.
Tall meadows are cut in spring or at the end of summer.
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| The first
or final cut: |
- The final cut be called 'the end of
Summer Cut' or the 'Third Cut' or the 'first Cut' depending on what
meadow it refers to. Meadows that haven't been cut all year get
there first cut and only cut usually after July 21st............but
that all depends.......on you.........I can only recommend from my
experience, and it seems, we must cut for most mixtures, places and
species, but 'when', now that is an entirely different matter. Our
customers have failed and succeeded by cutting at the most unusual
times.
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More
notes about cutting a meadow:
Cut all meadows, When the meadow has
finished flowering, after 21st August and before October, at the latest.
Late summer or tall
flowering meadow plants may flower and until mid September. Yarrow,
Devil's Bit, Marjoram, Bedstraw Loosestrife and Meadowsweet respond well
to late cutting. If at this stage and over mild
winters if the meadow seems untidy or is too tall cut it back to
4".
Indian summers: if the summer is
prolonged, a meadow may flower into November.
In truth, the cutting dates are
entirely up to you and these ones listed here are for a cool/ temperate
oceanic climate. The cutting dates provided are
used as guidelines and cutting should depend on when the flowering
season is finished or when specific heights are reached.
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REMEMBER: Always remove
'cut' materials.
Most wildflowers will die if grass cuttings are not removed. |
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ON - CHOOSE 