How Can YELLOW RATTLE Help YOUR WILDFLOWER MEADOW?

In this video we look at Yellow Rattle - a key component in any wildflower meadow.
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Joel Ashton
#YellowRattle #RhinanthusMinor #Wildflowers #WildflowerMeadow #Garden #WildlifeGarden #Meadow #HowToUseYellowRattle #WildlifeGardening #GardeningForWildlife #JoelAshton #WildYourGarden #MeadowMaking #HowToMakeAWildflowerMeadow #MakeAMeadow #WildflowerSeed #BackYardGardening #GardeningAdvice #GardeningHowTo #NoMowSummer #NoMowMay

[@GregsWildlife]

I seeded some yellow rattle a few years ago, and it's firmly established itself. This year it's just everywhere in my 'long grass' areas. It's wonderful!

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

Hi Greg - this is so good to read - I'm sorry I've not been able to keep up lately but I've been out 6 days/week trying to keep client works on track and working until it gets dark (am sure you'll remember THAT scenario!) - hope you're keeping well - best wishes, Joel

[@dcvariousvids8082]

One of the woodland groups I volunteer for, have sown Yellow Rattle for 2-3yrs. in the middle of a meadow. Monitoring wildlife before and now ongoing. Our resident moth, (and butterfly) expert has recorded a marked increase in certain species, within the original sown area and at the borders. Plus it’s just nice to look at and the bumbles like it.

[@jasonalmighty7407]

Thanks Joel. Helped to transform my own garden into a wildlife garden and seen great results from it 👍

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

Hi Jason - thank you, ever so much for your generosity, it really does help go towards equipment (and time!) to bring these videos to everyone and I really appreciate it - so glad that the videos are helping, it really does keep me going! Best wishes, and thank you again - Joel

[@casper1240]

I took over a silage grass field for my meadow 4 years ago sowed some Rattle it has controlled my Silage grasses a lot lots ofn Rattle last year but hardly any this year comes in cycles i guess might sow some more Rattle ,on a side note had lots of Grasshopers last year and loads of butterflies but none this year , my Leafcutter Bees camem back though and filled up all the Nesting Tubes cheers Joel

[@SisterDogmata]

Hey Joel! I definitely need this wonderful plant in my no mow front garden! The grasses here are really thick and tall so this will help to eventually turn it into a meadow. I had tried wildflower seeds but as you say they get swamped by the grass and rather than have the hard work of removing it this will be the easier and more beneficial option. Hope you had a great weekend, best wishes.

[@MoustermindTCG]

Unfortunately, It is still best to clear spots to sow the yellow rattle into bare earth - you'll get a much higher germination rate this way 😊

[@SisterDogmata]

@@MoustermindTCG Thanks for the advice! Will do.

[@Tofog22000]

Amazing plant, what a beautiful meadow!

[@markhunter9387]

Very informative. Yellow Rattle is a plant I’ve never actually come across and new very little about, what a gem of a little plant 🐝

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

So glad this was informative and helpful Mark, it certainly is the meadow-makers friend :) Hope you had a good weekend, best wishes - Joel

[@ChopsyMiche]

Love this beautiful plant, its wonderful. Nature always does it best, doesn't it:)

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

Absolutely Miche, absolutely :) Hope you had a good weekend, best wishes - Joel

[@Jacksonknox834]

More great content Thank you, Joel

[@itsmewende]

I'll be trying again. That seed isn't sold many places over here but I did find one, I'll sow this autumn.

[@wildlifegardener-tracey6206]

I fear my grass area is far too shaded now for this amazing plant. But a brilliant plant and great information on how to get it established. Thanks Joel.

[@badmofo420]

I scarified my front lawn last September and sowed yellow rattle. Its worked a treat, loads of beautiful yellow flowers and the grass isn't too long. Not sure what to do this year though, should I sow mixed wildflower seed after the September cut? scarify first?

[@CheshireCat6639]

I found a packet of YR seeds in a box, was going to scatter them now but I will wait til Autumn now, they are a lovely little plant, and know how to do a good job of curtailing grasses, clever nature, ty for sharing Joel 🎉

[@thaojuli]

It's first time for me to see yellow rattle, cute flowers :)

[@janiedunn637]

❤️ the garden. Looking 👍🏻, Joel

[@AmirsAllotment]

A brilliant plant, I’m looking forward to adding this to my my meadow patch. Great advice Joel 😊

[@lindaware3082]

Fascinating ❤

[@PaulOutdoors]

One of nature's superstars Joel. 🙏😊👍❤️

[@SuzanneWright-ow4nz]

Thanks Joel I'm going to try this now you've informed me how. Fingers Crossed

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

You're very welcome Suzanne, happy to provide tailored and professional advice if you need help and are buying from www.wildyourgarden.com - best wishes, Joel

[@MindyOBlock]

amazing plant, would like one for New York

[@user-tg2hn9ob2g]

Hi Joel. Hope you’re well. Fan of Wild Your Garden. I’ve only got a small patch but planted yellow rattle in November with the hope of making a wildflower patch. It seems to have taken nicely. What’s my next step to grow wildflowers? Thanks in advance.

[@RubDev]

Great video. I use the Rhinantus minor on Sedum greenroofs when grasses establish themselves. Sowing the major in my floreren meadow in the front yard. I’m not at stage 3 yet, so this might do the trick.

[@hotelsierra86]

Find putting seeds in the freezer for a couple of days breaks dormancy. Then you can sow them out.

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

Yes, this works with a lot of seeds and definitely helps to ensure germination :) Best wishes, Joel

[@keithhooper6123]

Had little success in getting Yellow Rattle to germinate,and was wondering about doing this.

[@coolstertothecore]

We have about 4 yellow rattle plants after sowing last autumn. 😂 I'm still pleased as the grass is so strong. I think we'll try starting with a small area and use the 9cm pots next time.

[@angelamckichan7061]

I’m in Skye and I’ve been trying for about 4years to grow yellow rattle but my grass is so strong , I’ve been able to collect some seeds from a neighbour so fingers crossed , this time

[@JessicaA]

Joel I love you and your passion for wildlife, and always look forward to watching your videos. I am concerned that your vids don’t include warnings that specific plants are described in the context of the UK - there are 2 billion English speakers living outside the UK, and hopefully lots of them are also watching your videos… I’d hate for someone to introduce a plant somewhere that it will have negative impacts on native wildlife. Alexandra from the Middle Sized Garden does a pretty good job of adding a brief note to her videos that mention plant species, if you want examples of what I mean :) Thanks for everything you do for the critters! Hope you’re having a great spring/summer

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

Hi there Jessica - thank you so much, am glad you are enjoying the videos. I do say in many videos that, aside from my english accent giving it away, that it is best to check in your own country to see if any plants are considered invasive - I know that Purple Loosestrife is a complete "no, no!" for the US for example - but at the very beginning of this video I do state about checking and that native in one country doesn't mean it's native in another: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5DVhIFpeJVqjdE To be fair, if it's an invasive/alien species there really shouldn't be a way of purchasing these plants in any country that they're detrimental to, they will be on a "banned" list by governments and laws are a lot tighter these days than they used to be - no doubt because of the problems some plants can cause, like Japanese Knotweed here for example :) It would be so difficult and time consuming for me to research every country and advise whether the plants are right or not. Hope that allays any fears, best wishes - Joel

[@richard281150]

I'm planning on doing what you suggest the October but, if buying seed how many seeds per square metre should I use, or how many plugs per square metre? Thanks 😀

[@Arachnoid_of_the_underverse]

09:30 regarding breaking the hus, would not placing them in a fridge or freezer before planting not aid this?

[@williamthomas330]

Thanks

[@BeFree-BeFrugal]

Really interesting

[@sallyboys3724]

I have yellow rattle plugs ready to plant in a grassy area, can they go straight into the ground once we have weeded the area? Any suggestions welcome😊

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

Hi Sally, they should be fine but if you wanted to send in a photo or two of the current area I'm more than happy to advise re prep required - you can send them to me at [e-mail] - best wishes, Joel

[@leeleethompson]

Wonderful information. I’m going to try to convert a 6 x 20 plot of grass (lawn) to wildflower garden. I think this could be a good intermediary step. More research needed! Does anyone know if yellow rattle will get rid of poison ivy? I’ve got a separate, much bigger, area that I’d like to convert in the future…but it’s swamped by poison ivy, so have to get rid of that first…. I’m in US/Northeast.

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

Hi there! Yellow Rattle doesn't actually kill anything, but in a meadow it latches on to grasses, and therefore makes them weaker - which then of course allows the more delicate wildflowers to flourish. Here it's known as the meadow maker's friend, for this very reason. If you see my most recent video "No Mow May - The Truth" I do talk about nectar lawns which are more easy to establish and look after than meadows and can be grown lower in a garden setting. I hope this helps - best wishes, and thank you for the support - Joel

[@leeleethompson]

@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton Ah, that makes sense. I will check out the other video.

[@luckyhomestead]

It’s very cool and useful plant I get it… but what’s next? How you get rid off it? I mean when it kills everything around, how you het rid of it?

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

Hi there, sorry for the delay in acknowledging you but I've been away on large projects. Just catching up with everyone, yellow rattle only really feeds/uses grasses so there is absolutely no need to ever get rid of it - if you want delicate wildflowers to be given a chance to grow then this is the plant you need, wildflowers struggle to get their roots down with stronger grass roots, hence the need to keep grasses in check in a meadow. Grasses ARE important in a meadow though, for sure. Hope this helps - best wishes, Joel

[@a.m.d493]

Can I ask what type of sickle/hay meadow cutter do you use? I am looking for a good one for my meadow. Cheers

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

Hi there, sorry for the delay in acknowledging you, just trying to catch up with everyone - it depends on the area of course but I do use a hand-scythe when it's a smaller site, but for a large site I use an agri-mower which is made by BCS. Hope this helps - best wishes, Joel

[@george-1961]

What are the 2 rare moths that rely on this plant Joel ? I have them growing from your online bought seeds 👌🏻

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

Hi there George :) I know of the Grass Rivulet moth relying heavily on yellow rattle and mainly it's seeds, but I am not entirely sure I know of the other one, but maybe I should! I just tried to google it for you and it seems that although it's stated it's important for two rare moths (even on Wildlife Trusts website!) they only mention this Grass Rivulet as well... I need to know for sure now! You're very lucky to have grown these from seed as they are pretty difficult, they need grass as the host plant to "feed" off and dry weather or grass that is too long for it to establish can all play a part. Well done on making this a success :) Best wishes, Joel

[@george-1961]

@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton Right. I’ve never heard of that moth before and will look out for it. At least we have one that rely’s on this plant. I succeeded from your instructions. Cut down grass low and used an electric scarifier. Then scattered seeds and covered with a light dusting of soil. Also red clover which was not that successful but still had enough of your Red clover seeds to grow in tubs and planted out individually. Thank you Joel 😉

[@888fluffy]

Ive got a little garden that gets a beautiful flush of cuckoo flowers in the spring. The the rest of the year its just grass. At first i was just gonna dig up the tuff and start from scratch. However, i didnt want to get rid of the cuckoo flowers accidentally. Should i use yellow rattle instead?

[@dnr733]

Does anyone know if this will grow in the US/Midwest?

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

Hi Dan, glad to have been of help, thanks for the email and fingers crossed you help this wonderful wildflower become more common in the States. Best wishes, Joel

[@patcampton7163]

The grass on part of my lawn has been killed off by creeping buttercup. Anyone got any ideas about how i could get a bit more grass to grow in the area.

[@jonathanpaske2739]

I must be doing something wrong sowed yellow rattle into really cut short area of grass but nothing showed it seems a really difficult seed to germinate.

[@SandyKH]

May sound silly, but, does it need lots of sun? If I plant it under our trampoline.... could we create a shade wild flower meadow?

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

Hi Sandra, not a silly question - you could try planting a woodland mix for shade - we do sell the woodland shade seed mix on www.wildyourgarden.com but you would need to prep the soil first when seeding - hope this helps :) Best wishes, Joel

[@MrMchance]

Hi Joel. Can you help please? I sowed yellow rattle in my small (3m x 3m) wildflower meadow last autumn doing everything you advise (making sure it was in contact with the soil, allowing it to get frosted etc) but nothing germinated. I've read it's notoriously difficult to germinate. I'd like to go with plug plants but I live in France. Do you know where I can get hold of plug plants in France? I've emailed your website but have had no reply. Thanks in advance.

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

Hi Michael, firstly apologies that you haven't had a response, if it's been in the last 2 weeks then I've been out working 6 days/week to keep client jobs on track - but can you send a photo or two of the area to me so I can suggest remedies - if you could send to [e-mail] I will see the email, I am trying to catch up on admin whilst staying at lodgings in the evenings but will endeavour to help where I can :) I hope this helps - best wishes, Joel

[@MrMchance]

@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton Hi Joel. I've tried using the email address you gave me but get an error message saying it's not a valid email address! Help!

[@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton]

@@MrMchance Hi Michael, I just checked and it's definitely: [e-mail] or you could try [e-mail] The people in the office can then forward that to me. Please do try again :)

[@MrMchance]

@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton Hi Joel. After I messaged you it suddenly allows me to send it! I'll send it to the other address just in case. Thanks for your patience.

[@MrMchance]

@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton Hi Joel. I sent an email to both these addresses a week ago. Just checking if you've received them. Many thanks. Michael

[@justim4545]

I killed all my grass in my front garden, planted loads of boxes of wildflower in early spring. Nothing much is growing. There are a few things that I think are "Weeds". I raked a lot of the dead grass off, it didnt completely rake away, as it's so difficult to do, but there was a little bare earth showing. Not sure what to do.

[@freddieg1095]

How did you kill all the grass initially?

[@justim4545]

@@freddieg1095 Roundup