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WOODLANDS |
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| Woodland flowers, and to a lesser extent, woodland grasses, are tolerant of shade, and
a mixture of these species
may be sown beneath established trees. Cultivating the soil beneath trees would be difficult and would damage
the tree roots, therefore prepare a seed bed by removing weeds such as Nettles and Brambles, and raking off the
leaf litter. The seed is best sown in the late autumn, winter or spring, so that seedlings can become
established before the next leaf fall. Some species will be quite slow to establish, Bluebell, for example,
taking 4-6 years to reach flowering.
On new tree plantings one option is to sow a temporary ground cover using a meadow mixture or grass mixture. As the canopy closes and light levels reduce to 50% the temporary cover will decline and a woodland mixture can be sown.
A woodland mixture will require little management during establishment and after. The most common weeds are Nettles and Brambles, but these being only semi-shade tolerant are usually confined to the woodland edge.
The ground flora will benefit from good tree management. Exclude stock and where appropriate manage the woodland as a coppice with standards, cutting sectors on a 20-30 year cycle.
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Emorsgate Wild Seeds |
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