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Meadow grass for very poor soil?
kieran.f.macdonald
Posts: 13
in Plants
We have a 6mx2m wildflower patch (half turf, half seeded) alongside a huge laurel hedge on our boundary. We decided to go for wildflowers there because we had consistently failed to grow anything in the spot, and we concluded that the soil must be poor (possibly because of the laurel). And it seems we were correct, as the wildflowers are thriving - but apparently there's such a thing as soil that is too poor for a meadow, as the grasses are struggling to survive in it. Virtually all of the grasses in the turf died after the first year, and the grasses in the seeded half didn't sprout at all. As a result, the wildflowers (particularly the daisies) have gone 'rampant' and the whole thing is a bit of a tangled mess.
So, can anyone recommend any long meadow grasses that can survive in this very poor soil and keep the wildflowers in check?
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Did you mow it at the end of the season?
I could post some tomorrow but it's a bit too dark now! We cut it very short (but didn't mow it) last season; it's currently a blanket of perennial wildflowers (and some weeds!) about 3-4cm tall.
https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/grasses-sedges-and-rushes/sweet-vernal-grass
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Thanks! Apparently the seed mix that I used in the seeded half did contain sweet vernal grass, but not very much of it.
Did your flower seed mix contain an excess of yellow rattle?
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."