I always fail with oriental poppies!

winter sowing, under lights, outside: I can never get them beyond the early seedling stage. Please advise. I have enough seeds to try several ways.

Gloria,
Will they reseed themselves (outside over winter)? Do you have quite a few plants of them? I just thought I'd ask..because I can give you red oriental poppy plants...

For what it's worth, I sow mine in seed trays in the winter. I find it wise to get them in the ground before the last frost, which takes a bit of work getting them used to the outside and the cold for a few hours each day.

In seed trays, I find that they die quickly if allowed to dry out. In pots (which I tried one year) they simply died for me. When a plant dies in my setup in a pot, this is almost always because they do not like their roots to get real hot (since all of my pots are black plastic, this makes for a quick death sentence.)

Here in Dallas, OR it seems fairly easy to grow Oriental Poppies from seed. I usually start them about now in pots (the taller 2"). I put them on a bench of the North side of my garden shed. When they come up I thin them to two per pot and keep them there until Spring. I plant them in the ground in the Spring or give them away. I have not had any trouble with the transition. I don't think it would work if they are in shallower pots. This probably works for me because of our cool nights (50 & 60's). I have to make sure I keep them moist also. They seem to make it through the winter in good shape. Must plant out as soon as our weather moderates (about April).

I sprinkle them around my flower bed in the fall, then just leave them alone. They come up on their own in the spring. If we have a dry winter, I water the bed about once every couple of weeks. Otherwise, everything's left to its own.

Me, too, Stephanie. As I understand it they don't like having their roots disturbed at all. Direct sowing is the only way to go and here that means November or so, as they respond to being in the cold for a spell. Sheila sent me seed last year and this spring my beds were covered. No fear about covering other plants as they don't bloom all that long. The come up and bloom before anything else and then die to the ground before reseeding themselves and starting all over next season.

Christi

The only problem I had with them this year is spider mites. I love them because they bloom so early, almost before anything else, then they die when everything else is getting ramped up.

here in northern Ohio several friends have told me to take seed and sprinkle on light snow covered ground (about 1" of snow on top of the ground) and leave them alone. They don't like well amended soil. they do best in just plain clay soil. So with all the seeds that I have this year, I'm going to do this next spring, as I have so much clay that I'll sprinkle them around march.

Good luck with yours.

Janet