Wildflower Gardening

Wildflowers are Easy to Grow...

They have a natural resistance to pest, disease & tough climates. There are wildflowers that can thrive in clay soil, sandy soil, nutrient poor soil, and practically no soil at all.

Why? Over time they have adapted to survive on their own without watering, pruning, weeding & fertilizing.

Definition of a wildflower: A Flower that has developed over time without human intervention & retains the original characteristics of the plant family. A large number are considered weeds with pretty flowers.

Most Wildflowers will reseed & return each year with very little work. Wildflowers are sown for beauty & low maintenance. They are used for:

• Erosion control
• Ground cover
• Roadside attractions
• Meadows
• Home wildflower gardens

Regional Zones:

It is best to plant the native varieties of wildflowers that are from that particular region. Put another way… it is easier to match wildflowers to your existing site than to change the site.

One suggestion to get best results is to plant a wildflower mix that contains a wide variety of species. This will give you the opportunity to see which wildflowers do best on your selected site.

This is because wildflowers have developed over time to genetically become insect & disease resistant to a particular region. This includes soil conditions, climate and other environmental factors. Old meadows full of wildflowers & grasses have in many cases taken hundreds of years to develop and are very specific to the local conditions mentioned above.

Wildflowers Tips:

• They tend to prefer wide open spaces
• 8 hours of sunshine each day
• They like soil rich in nutrients
• They like well drained soils
• The don’t like hard packed soils
• They like warm soil between 68 & 70 degrees F.

If you have an area that tends to be wet, wildflowers will not do well. Believe it or not… Wildflowers can be used for weed control. If you give them a running start they will beat the weeds and take control.

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This is really where it all begins when you want to start your wildflower garden. This is where you not only decide the location of your garden but what environmental conditions exist.

You need to consider:

* What kind of terrain you have such as… wet bog, open woods, prairie, or ordinary lawn?

* Will your wildflowers be in the shade most of the day, part of the day, or will they be exposed to direct sunlight?

* Is the area located in a typically wet area (possibly a low lying area) or on a dry high spot n your yard?

Vantage Points:

Considering all the above will play into your wildflower type selection as well as the exact location you finally decide upon. Other things to consider when you are deciding where to plant your wildflowers are:

* The viewpoint from where your flowers will be seen. You may want to consider a location where you can see and enjoy them from either your home or the road.

* How easy it is to get to with gardening tools and equipment and your ability to water if needed.

Sketch of your site:

Drawing out your plan on paper is a great way to start. You can do a rough sketch in your planning and it will help you in these areas:

* In your sketch you can include other significant things such as your home, garage, driveway, playground area, etc.

* When doing a rough sketch and considering the whole layout of your property you can see proportionately how it looks. This may help you in deciding the size and layout shape of your wildflower garden.

* In your sketch you can also plan within the wildflower garden itself. This will allow you to decide which types of flowers go where and will help you in making your wildflower seed purchases.

If you are at the stage of wildflower site evaluation you have all the control in your hands to make a wonderful garden. Once this is planned you are now ready for:

• Preparing the Site

Preparing the Site:

Properly preparing your site is a sure way to guarantee a great looking wildflower garden. Your site preparation techniques will vary depending upon:

• The type of location site you hav
e
• chosen
• The types of wildflowers you have decided to grow
• Whether this is in your yard, a field / meadow, or a prairie

Planting wildflowers and preparing the site correctly is time consuming but well worth the efforts. You will eventually have a near self-sustaining patch of beautiful wildflowers lasting years. Your first step will be:

* Remove weeds & other flora that will compete with your wildflowers for sun, nutrition, and water.

Methods for Removing Weeds:

* Dig out your garden tools (pun intended). Use a plow or other type of disc or hoe to help dig up existing vegetation. Do some shallow disking in your garden every few weeks during the summer as new seeds germinate. After most of the summer you are ready to broadcast your wildflower seeds in the fall or early winter for spring germination.

* Another faster method is to use chemical herbicides (weed killers). Of course, use the safest ones available and PLEASE read & follow the instructions carefully. The basics are to use the chemical herbicide as follows:

• In late spring after plants are
• growing
• Spot treatment 3 weeks later on the weeds not killed
• A final herbicide treatment can be done in late Fall

Note: A controlled burn is another option to help you get started in clearing a field but follow local regulations and practice proper safety techniques when doing so.

Preparing Hillsides:

Hillsides are a different kind of challenge but well worth it for their natural beauty. You do not want to till a hill (rhyme) because it increases the chances of erosion. Here you can either use a black plastic cover to kill the weeds or go to a herbicide to take care of the weeds.

Generally speaking, when the area is clear of grass & weeds for a month you are ready to plant you wildflowers.

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Now you have prepared the site and you can proceed in planting your wildflower seeds. This is of course based on the assumption you have already purchased wildflower seed for this activity.

There are a couple of things you must consider before casting your seeds:

* Is it the appropriate time of the year based on where you live and the type of flowers to be planted (reference the growth zone chart & map).

* Have you done the proper pre-treatment (germination pre-treatment) for the seeds to ensure best results.

When to Plant:

The best time to broadcast wildflowers is in the fall because this follows the normal seeding cycle of wildflowers. Wildflower seeds can also be planted in the spring if needed.

Once you have determined it is the right time of the year and have done all the preparations, you are now ready to plant. There are 2 ways to plant wildflowers:

1- You can dig up wildflowers from a field and transplant them (this is not the standard or recommended method.

2- You can sow wildflower seeds. This is the way nature does it and the way experts say to start & maintain your wildflower garden, field or meadow.

Planting your wildflower seeds

Planting wildflower seeds is as easy as following a recipe book. To make planting your seeds consistent over the entire area you should add a bulking material such as sand or sawdust to your seeds. Ratios can vary depending on the bulk and your own feel but use approximately a 6 to 1 ratio (6 parts bulk to 1 part wildflower seeds).

To get best results it is important that your seeds have good soil contact. There is a balance between the seeds being deep enough and being too deep:

* Too Deep: If too deep the seeds may run out of their inner nutrition source before making it to the surface.

* Not Deep Enough: If not deep enough, the elements can get to them in the form of wind, hard rain, or creatures such as birds feeding upon them.

* Just the Right Depth: If wildflower seeds are planted at just the right depth (just under the surface) they are protected from the elements and at the same time shallow enough to break through to the surface before their reserves run out.

Seed Tip:

Apply straw as a cover to prevent erosion on hillsides or as extra protection from the elements.

Fertilizers are not usually necessary for wildflowers if proper planning has taken place. By choosing a site that is well suited for your wildflowers, as well as choosing wildflowers native to the area you live, the flowers are already adapted to growing well without fertilizer help.

Weed Control in Your Wildflower Garden

No matter what kind of garden you are growing, weeds will be a part of the scene. One of the problems with weeds in your wildflower gardens are that many of the grass weeds for example will grow taller than your wildflowers and thus block them from view.

Before you start heaping weed killer chemical herbicides all over your garden, there are some initial steps you can take as “first defenses” against unwanted weeds.

Site Evaluation – You can start with selecting a site for your wildflower garden that is not heavily populated with weeds. Some areas to potentially avoid are in low areas where water sometimes stands. Best areas are ones where there is good drainage or elevated because the weed population should be lower.

Soil / Site Preparation – This is very important to controlling your weed population. There are thousands of buried weed weeds lying dormant just beneath the soil surface. By disturbing the ground too deeply (more than 1-2 inches) you will cause the weeds to germinate. You can remove the weeds by hand using these methods: