How to Sow Wildflower Seed featured image

How to Sow Wildflower Seed

Knowing how to sow wildflower seed will increase how well your wildflower meadow blooms! And once you’ve picked your wildflower mix, it’s time to prepare your chosen area for sowing. The best times to sow wildflower seeds are in autumn and spring. This is because an autumn sow will bring spring blooms, and a spring sow will produce summer blooms.

You can sow between these seasons, but avoid sowing wildflower seeds from November to February when the soil will likely freeze.

Now that you have suitable weather, it’s time to prepare the area for sowing

Here’s what you’ll need to prepare the area:

• A garden trowel
• Garden fork
• A cup
• Watering can
• And, of course, some wonderful wildflower seed!

Step 1: Remove all grass, weeds and flora from the area

Before sowing your seed, you must remove all existing grass, weeds and flora from the area to achieve bare soil. Wildflowers will not be able to compete with grass weeds or other flowers.

Remove weeds and dig out their roots

You can remove these by using a garden trowel.

With grass, weeds and flora removed, you need to level out the area.

Step 2: Level the area out

You should level out the area so there are no dips in the soil. Do not add top soil or any compost to this area – the soil must be low in fertility for your wildflowers to thrive and grow.

If your soil is difficult to rake, use your garden fork to break it up.

Next, put up your feet and relax – as you need to let the soil settle.

Step 3: Leave the area to settle 

Leave the area to sit for a number of weeks. This encourages any sneaky weeds to appear so they can be removed before sowing the seed.

Don’t skip this step, as it’s worth it in the long run!

Waiting time up, it’s time to do your final prep steps.

Step 4: Rake over the area

Rake over the area to remove clumps or bumps and create a fine, level seed bed. The soil should not be compacted and should be easy to rake through.

Seedbed prepared to perfection, you can now sow your seed!

Step 5: Sow the seed

Scatter your seed at a rate of 5g per m2. You can measure this in a cup or sprinkle by hand – don’t sow the seeds too close together.

Seed sown, we’re onto the last step!

Step 6: Firm in and water

Rake in the seed and firm it down by foot to embed it into the soil. This will help your wildflowers to grow.

Our UK weather does a good job of watering our plants, but if there is no rainfall in the first few weeks after sowing, give your wildflower seed a helping hand with some watering.