It’s easy to grow your own flowers from seed. Here’s beautiful flowers, growing information & seed collections for gifts.
COUNTRY GARDEN SEED SHOP
Rhinanthus minor
This is Yellow Rattle, often seen in sunny, grassy places around the UK such as wild flower meadows and pastures. In fact it's said to be the key to growing wildflowers successfully, Yellow Rattle weakens grass by feeding on it and allows other wildflower plants the chance to establish. It's ability to turn improved grassland back to meadow means that other more delicate wildflowers can grow and thrive, especially if you are sowing seeds into established grass.
Yellow rattle is short and sturdy with strong mottled stems and yellow tube-like flowers. As soon as the seeds ripen in summer you'll hear them rattle. Sow your fresh seeds again for more plants next year. You may know this plant as Rattle Box or Hay Rattle. Excellent for wildlife and wildlife gardens.
Recognised by the RHS as Perfect for Pollinators. Attracts Bees, Butterflies, Moths and other beneficial insects. Yellow rattle is also the foodplant for the larvea of several moths including the rare Grass Rivulet
| Genus | Rhinanthus minor |
| Common name | Yellow Rattle |
| Plant Type | Hardy Annual. Wild Flower. |
| Height & Spread | 15-45cm tall x 15 cm wide ( 6 inches -1.5 feet tall x 6 inches) |
| Sow Seeds | Sow fresh seeds in late summer to autumn directly onto well scarified short grass. There should be plenty of bare earth for the seeds to settle into and plenty of grass left for the young yellow rattle plants to feed on. A 50/50 split is ideal. Requires prolonged chilling through winter to trigger germination the following spring. |
| Spacing | No thinning necessary |
| Conditions Required | Yellow Rattle prefers well drained soil, a level site with short grass and full sun. Water thoroughly in dry spells. |
| Flower Production | Masses of blooms produced from June to September. |
| Picking | Not really used as a cut flower because the aim is to let Yellow Rattle flower in situ and produce more seeds. More plants will then grow and feed on the grass which weakens it and and allows other wildflowers to thrive. |
| Planting Combinations | Yellow Rattle are some of the most useful wildflowers you can grow. Bees love them and they will assist other flowers by weakening existing grass. Lovely with Red and White Clover, Geranium pratense, Knautia arvensis, Centaurea scabiosa and Leucanthemum vulgare. |