A lush, colorful flower meadow with many different types of flowers and herbs is not only a feast for the eyes, but also a biotope for numerous rare plant and animal species. In order to maintain this diversity, you must consider a few important points when mowing a wild meadow.
When and how should you mow a flower meadow?
Mowing a flower meadow correctly is important to preserve biodiversity. Mow by hand with a scythe or bar mower in the second half of June, August or mid to late May once most of the flowers have faded. Do not mow shorter than 10 cm and leave the cuttings for a few days.
Mahd is one of the basic care measures
First of all: It doesn't work without mowing, because this would gradually cause the meadow to become overgrown and lose its biodiversity. Instead of the sensitive meadow flowers and herbs, more competitive plants establish themselves and displace the desired plants. You can only counteract this completely natural development through regular mowing, in which vigorous plants are pushed back and the meadow flowers finally reclaim their territory.
The optimal time
As is so often the case here, it all depends on the right time, because flower meadows must under no circumstances be mowed before sowing seeds - if they are mowed too early, the biodiversity is at risk because the meadow flowers will no longer be there Ability to sow themselves. For this reason, meadows are traditionally mown in the second half of June and August. A possible third mowing is also possible around mid to late May. However, which time is actually the ideal is determined by the blooming times of the flowers growing in the meadow - when most of them have faded, you can swing the scythe.
Mowing a flower meadow – this is how it’s done
This brings us to the optimal mowing tool. Naturally, you cannot drive the lawnmower across a wild meadow - the device would quickly capitulate. In addition, a flower meadow does not need to be cut nearly as short as a conventional lawn. Wild meadows are best mown by hand with a scythe (€225.00 on Amazon), as this method is the gentlest on both the plants and the animals. This method also has the advantage that you can leave flowers that have not yet bloomed. Alternatively - for example for very large areas - a bar mower is recommended. The meadow should not be mown shorter than about ten centimeters. Leave the cuttings lying around for a few days before clearing them away - then the flowers can still go to seed.
Tips & Tricks
Out of consideration for animal residents (e.g. birds), if possible, do not mow the entire meadow at once, but only in strips and at different times. In this way you give the meadow residents a place to retreat.