Is my area too wet and cold to grow yellow rattle?
Cissie Prior, County Antrim
AMATTHEW SAYS Yellow rattle is a gorgeous meadow addition, and really does help slow down the vigour of grasses, allowing a wider range of other meadow plants to establish, without the battle of the grass being too overwhelming.
Yellow rattle will also grow in damp meadows, so long as they are not under standing water for long periods of time, so I would be hopeful you would be able to establish it in Country Antrim.
To be successful growing yellow rattle you need to start with fresh seed. The seed does not have a long shelf life, so sow the seed as soon as you can, preferably in late summer.
Then, when you sow it, it must make contact with bare ground, so cut back your meadow, and vigorously rake out some areas to create some disturbed bare earth, and sow onto that area. It will not germinate until the following spring, but I am hopeful this will work out for you.