Does anyone here grow Poppies in their gardens ?
If you do, which ones, and how do they perform ?
I planted a lot of Poppy seeds this year, and I didn't get the
"show" that I was hoping for. I didn't save the seed packets
so I don't even recall which Poppies I planted. But I do recall
planting a lot of Poppy seeds.

I also sowed a bunch of poppy seeds this year-and did not get the germination and plants which I expected. I think the birds took the seeds. Ants will take seeds also.
I think that I will go back to sowing them in trays and transplanting them out.
More work,but the critters don't get the expensive seeds that way.

I "tossed" out "Persian Blue" poppies last fall and just had a great show. I liked them so much that this year I'm doing several different kinds of somniferum poppies. Also traded for some wood poppies (will grow in shade) and California poppies have naturalized in my garden. I think the fall sowing is what did it. Some seeds just need to be outside for the winter and then come up when they decide to.
If you'd like to try some "Persian Blue", I have tons of seed I collected.

Yes, poppies do like cooler growing conditions.

I've an annual self seeding kind that's been here for maybe 10 years. Originally received seed from a gardening friend in Georgia. They're mostly single reds, some double reds and a lesser proportion of pinks.

Your Poppies are magnificent. I'm getting ready to Order my Poppy seeds now, so I can plant them in the fall. I'm ordering the Red Corn Poppy/Flanders Poppy. Wish me Luck !

Thanks Patrick. I think mine are Papaver somniferum. When I originally received them, the source told me to scatter them on top of snow during the winter, I did and it worked, they've self seeded since then.
Did you happen to see this pic?

I grew Flanders (American Legion) corn poppy this year in my raised garden bed and it did great. (I'm zone 5a/6b.) I bought organic seeds and grew it, thinking it would produce edible poppy seeds for culinary use, but it's clearly not the right type for that purpose. It added beautiful, true red pops of color to the garden, though.

I think the seed from Papaver somniferum is used for that. If ingested and you were subject to a drug test, the results would read positive for opiates.
It's a self seeding annual.

This year I grew annual Shirley poppies ( in a large pot and in the garden) and they did well. Early March I direct sowed seeds into a flowerpot and also winter sowed some seeds into a water jug. They both did well. The winter sowed seedlings that I transplanted to the garden seemed sturdier than the ones that grew in the pot. I'll definitely grow them again for next year.

I also had my very first Oriental Poppy bloom this year - in August. Three years ago I planted seeds in the garden and only one plant came up. For 2 years it just produced leaves and nothing else. Well, lo and behold, this year it produced a flower! I think the flower lasted 3 days, but it was worth the wait! I'm going to try direct sowing more seeds in the same area in the early spring and hope for the best. The photos are of the Oriental poppy.

Hi All!

I was going to try the "scatter on snow" route this year and read late February is the time to do this. I'm in PA, zone 6b, Would doing it now, really be detrimental? We may get our first snow this weekend and thought I'd like to celebrate w/some poppy scattering. I'm thinking the only downside would be it would give the birds more time to find/eat them. Thoughts?

Thanks for your input!

Update: We got 30 inches of snow! I'm so exhausted from 2 days of shoveling, that wading out to the garden to scatter poppies, is going to have to wait! Haha! The thought was nice though : ) I read somewhere that mixing the poppy seeds w/dried used coffee grounds works the same as mixing w/sand to help broadcast them. So, I did throw my coffee grounds on a cookie sheet to dry yesterday in the midst of the storm/shoveling, so I'm still thinking about the poppies : ) Has anyone tried that??

It is probably a good idea.
The birds might get a few, but not in a snow cover.

I use the "sow mass quantities method" myself. I feed the birds near the house and have the annuals garden a good 100 feet away. I love poppies and there are a few other flowers that are best sown in fall/winter that I also like, Clarkia is one that comes to mind.
Mixing them with coffee grounds is an interesting idea, but that will sure be nasty looking on the snow, LOL. Anyone wanting "persian blue" poppy seeds, I have a million of them.

These poppies came from my Mothers flower beds years and years ago. It took my Mom about 4 times to get them started, everything from seeds to plants before they took off. But once they did they are beautiful.

They bloom in the spring and then die back, then come fall I see little plants emerge, and right now we have had some warmer than normal weather and they are emerging again or maybe I just didn't notice them thru the winter. Hard to stand in the gardens when the winds blow something horrible on this hill and be so cold.

I grow p somniferum too.
http://gardens-in-the-sand.blo...

October is the time for sowing poppy seeds at my house.... they grow all winter and bloom April-May.

Planting different colours together gets new surprising colours next year... and even better in future years...

Incidentally, if we forget to save seeds for next year... they self sow brilliantly.

DomehomeDee said: Anyone wanting "persian blue" poppy seeds, I have a million of them.

@DomehomeDee

hello Dee,

I know it's almost a year later, but if you still have some of those Persian Blue's to spare I would love to give them a try this winter

I would pay for shipping, ofcourse


Mayo
The Netherlands

If you want the kind for baking seeds, buy a pack of poppy seeds at the grocery store from the baking section. That makes for good cheap seeds to scatter. I did that one year---they were all white with mauve markings. Must do it again. Flax seeds from grocery store work too.
Although the ones I get from grocery store are annuals. I prefer the perennial blue flax.

Sorry I missed this thread earlier in the year, but @happgarden those poppies are gorgeous. Is it possible for it to be Tangerine Gem? I love that one, but haven't tried growing it yet. Stone said that now is the time to sow them in our part of the country. Spring sowing is too late as they can't take the heat.

Hi Neighbor,
Do poppies grow over the winter here?

Yes, as far as I know, they do, but I haven't grown any as yet. Oh wait, it seems that Stone in Georgia mention in few posts ago that they do. And he said that new is the time to sow them. I need to look through my seed stash for some to sow soon. Will you try sowing some this year?