Conventional (Non-Organic) Yellow Rattle Seed

Name: Yellow Rattle 

Latin Name: Rhinanthus minor

Plant Type: Annual

Organic: No

Seed Origin: Ireland

Coverage: 1g of Yellow Rattle seed will cover 1-2 square metres of ground. Approx 300-400 Yellow Rattle Seeds per gram.

Description: Yellow Rattle (Rhinathus minor) is a hemiparasitic plant, meaning it gets some of the energy it needs to grow from other plants. It takes the energy mainly from grasses. Because of this, when yellow rattle is present in grassland, the vigour of the grasses is much less, due to their energy being taken by yellow rattle.

For this reason, yellow rattle is useful when trying to establish a wildflower meadow. As the vigour of grasses will be reduced by the presence of yellow rattle, wild flowers will have a better chance of establishing and not be crowded out by grass. Restricting grass growth and allowing other plant species to thrive increases biodiversity.

Rhinathus minor can grow up to 50cm in height. 

Yellow Rattle seed needs to be sown directly into the ground in Autumn/Early Winter so the seeds are exposed to a period of cold over Winter. This helps them germinate the following Spring.

Sowing: August to December

Flowering: May to September

How To Grow Yellow Rattle From Seed: Yellow Rattle seed can be sown directly into bare ground where it is to grow. Prepare the area by loosening and breaking up the soil. Spread the seeds thinly into the prepared area and cover lightly with soil.

If Yellow Rattle seed is being sown in already established grassland, the grass will need to be scalped down to its crown, and the area scarified to produce open ground within the grass sward where Yellow Rattle seed can be sown into. 

Sow the seeds into the scalped/scarified grass area and rake in the seeds to make sure there is good seed to soil contact.

Yellow rattle seed will germinate the following Spring after it has been exposed to cold over Winter. Once it has germinated, do not cut the area where it is growing. It grows upright and will not tolerate mowing. Avoiding mowing the area will help to make sure that Yellow Rattle flowers and reaches maturity and its full benefit is utilised.