What's wrong with my rattle?

What’s wrong with my rattle?

- Anne Swithinbank

Q Keen to attract more wildlife, we let a small area of our lawn develop as a meadow. The grass is lush, and we’ve read that rattle will help reduce its vigour. Last autumn, I sprinkled seed in but nothing happened. How do you get it to take? Sally Owen, Telford, Shropshire

A The country names ‘meadow maker’, ‘shacklebags’, ‘rattlebaskets’ and ‘tiddibottles’ tell us a lot about this annual wildflower of traditional hay meadows. A semi-parasite, it germinates in spring from an autumn sowing and begins to take nutrients from grasses, reducing their vigour by half.

Weakened grasses mean more space for a wider range of perennial wildflowers such as purple-flowered knapweeds, bird’s foot trefoil, agrimony and meadowsweet. Yellow blooms open from May to July and, pollinated by bees, set into dry rattling pods.

On a well-drained, fairly dry, calcareous soil, establishment is relatively straightforward, but can be tricky where fertile soils encourage a thick grassy sward. Success depends on fresh seed, and focusing on the life cycle of this fascinating plant that slots so neatly into the management of now quite rare traditional meadows.