Lucerne Native Wildflower Seed

MEDICAGO SATIVA

Lucerne is not just a pretty purple flower. It is an agricultural heavyweight in a wildflower jacket. Deep roots, purple blooms, and the ability to improve soil like it has turned up with a clipboard and a five year regeneration plan.

Also known as alfalfa, Lucerne has been grown for centuries as a forage crop. Farmers love it, bees love it, soil loves it. It is part of the pea family, which means it can help fix nitrogen and support healthier ground.

Think of it as the practical revolutionary. Useful, tough, productive, and still attractive enough to earn its place in a wildlife garden. Not every hero wears petals. This one does.

Lucerne likes full sun, open ground, and free draining soil. It is best for meadow areas, banks, larger borders, and wildlife patches.

Rip - Clear weeds, grass, and debris. Rake the soil so you have a loose, open surface.

Scatter - Scatter the seed thinly across the soil. Do not sow too thickly, as Lucerne can grow tall and bushy.

Sow - Press the seed into the surface, or cover very lightly with soil.

When to sow - For best results sow from March to May, or from August to September. Lucerne likes warm enough soil to get going.

Where to sow - Choose a sunny spot with free draining soil and low competition. Lucerne does not like heavy, wet ground, and it needs good light.

After sowing, keep the soil lightly moist while the seeds get going.

Once you can see green shoots, keep big weeds and thick grass away. Lucerne does not need feeding. As part of the pea family, it can help bring nitrogen into the soil.

It has deep roots once growing well, so it can cope with drier conditions better than many plants. Avoid waterlogged soil.

Lucerne usually flowers from June to September, producing purple flowers that bees love.

It typically grows around 40 to 100 cm tall, sometimes more in good conditions, and brings height, colour, and soil improving benefits.

As a perennial, it can return year after year once happy. It is tough, useful, and quietly impressive. The sort of plant that looks good, feeds pollinators, and improves the place while everyone else is still deciding what to do.

Lucerne is not ideal for pots because it develops deep roots and prefers space.

If you do try it, use a large, deep pot with drainage holes. Fill it with peat free, low nutrient compost mixed with sharp sand or grit to keep it free draining. Avoid rich, wet compost. Wildflowers are not here for the luxury spa treatment.

Place the pot in full sun. Keep lightly moist while the seeds get going, then water only when the compost starts to dry out.

We want your seeds to grow. If you follow our sowing instructions, give them a fair chance, and they still do not grow, we’ll put it right.

Eligible customers can choose either a refund for the seeds that did not grow, or replacement seeds of the same value.

For more information on our policy go to our No Grow No Fee page.