EW1F – Wild flowers for woodland

Composition

EW1F is a good mixture of woodland wild flowers that will bloom in spring and early summer. Woodland wild flowers require some shade to thrive. So, use this mixture in established woods, or in young woodland as the canopy begins to close in.

Wild Flowers

%	Latin name	Common name
12.5	Alliaria petiolata	Garlic Mustard
2.5	Allium ursinum	Ramsons
5	Angelica sylvestris	Wild Angelica
1.5	Betonica officinalis - (Stachys officinalis)	Betony
5	Campanula trachelium	Nettle-leaved Bellflower
2.5	Digitalis purpurea	Foxglove
10	Galium album - (Galium mollugo)	Hedge Bedstraw
15	Geum urbanum	Wood Avens
8.5	Hyacinthoides non-scripta	Bluebell
12.5	Prunella vulgaris	Selfheal
15	Silene dioica	Red Campion
1	Silene flos-cuculi - (Lychnis flos-cuculi)	Ragged Robin
1.5	Stachys sylvatica	Hedge Woundwort
7.5	Teucrium scorodonia	Wood Sage
100

Sowing Rates

kg/ha	kg/acre	g/m2	Order Mixture
15	6	1.5	Order this mixture

Growing guide

Ground preparation

Endeavour to select ground that is not highly fertile and does not have a problem with perennial weeds. Clear any unwanted vegetation from the areas to be sown. Cultivation close to established trees and shrubs can be damaging to their root systems so take care not to dig too deep and keep disturbance to the minumum required to expose some fresh soil.

Sowing

Seed is best sown in the autumn or early spring. The seed must be surface sown and is best broadcast by hand or with a seed distributor. To get an even distribution and avoid running out, divide the seed into two or more parts and sow in overlapping sections. Do not incorporate or cover the seed. (more on sowing)

Woodland schemes are sown in a wide variety of circumstances with varying degrees of shading and other effects from tree roots. For this reason the results of sowing seed will be quite variable. Establishment of ground cover can be slow and patchy and in deeper shade full ground cover may never reach 100%.

Aftercare

Established woodland that has been under-sown with a woodland mixture requires little management during establishment. In the long-term ground flora will benefit from good tree and coppice management.

Open or young woodland with higher light levels will produce more growth. In these conditions an annual cut mid summer may be worthwhile for a more managed appearance and to keep weeds of semi-shade such as nettles and brambles in check.

 

EW1F is a mixture containing 100% native wild flowers for sowing in established woodland shade.   In new woodland plantations shade levels will take 5 years or more to develop.  During this time it may be necessary to sow some grasses with the flowers to provide ground cover to supress weeds until shade develops. EG9 is the grass mix we recommend for sowing with these flowers. EW1F and EG9 are available premixed as a complete meadow mixture EW1.