If Yellow Rattle establishes in your meadow, it will reduce the growth of grasses through it's semi-parasitic action of living on the roots of grasses. Encourage it and let it seed each year
It's a low, dull plant and you can hardly see the colour but having it prevalent in your wildflower area means that your other species will be more successful as the yellow rattle helps to keep grasses in check.
- Yellow Rattle Seed should only be sown in late autumn as it needs a frost before it will germinate
- Never cut from May to July, seed needs a frost to germinate and the ground / meadow must be gap created 'Gapped'
- Yellow Rattle Details
- Plant Type: Yellow Rattle is an Annual,- completes life cycle in one year.
- Flower Height: 10 to 30 cm
- Foliage Height: 5 - cm
- Flower Colour: Yellow,
- Flowering period: May, June, July, August
- Time to Flower: 7 months
- Soil Type: Will grow in most soils.
- pH Type: Acid, Neutral, Alkaline.
- Moisture: Dry, Moist, Wet
- Aspect: Full sun,
- Wildlife Value: Medium,
Each year you should consider gap creation in your wildflower area
- This is basically exposing bare soil throughout the meadow and re-seeding these areas to encourage a more species rich, floral display
- You can re-seed with seeds you collected from the previous year or buy more seeds
- Yellow Rattle is an extremely good plant to sow in gaps
- If grasses are taking over, then heavier clumps of grass should be spot weeded out
