California Poppies

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woodspirit1 Lake Toxaway, NC(Zone 7a) Jun 02, 2001

I would love to grow some of these bright orange velvety annuals. Can they be started this late? or do they have to be seeded in the fall? Any other info on them would be appreciated

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Debby Milo, IA(Zone 5a) Jun 03, 2001

Yes, they could be started now. They do reseed themselves, so you should have them for many years. Very easy to grow. Just sow and watch them grow.

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Essensia San Lorenzo, CA Jun 03, 2001

Hi woodspirit1 - Heck, give it a try. I just sowed some California Poppy seeds yesterday in containers. We'll see what happens!

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Zanymuse Scotia, CA(Zone 9b) Jun 04, 2001

The CA poppy should be sown directly in the ground as they are almost impossible to transplant. They develope a large deep taproot that enables them to withstand drought about as well as a cactus. They will keep coming back year after year even if they are mowed down and totally neglected! They will reseed themselves also. They need to be kept damp but not wet during their germination and for awhile until they have had a chance to estaplish a healthy tap root. after that they need virtually no care at all.

Good luck and enjoy! Hope this helped.

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Essensia San Lorenzo, CA Jun 05, 2001

Hi Zanymuse - great information! Hope you don't mind a follow-up question. Does "should be sown directly in the ground" mean "should be sown directly into its final location in the ground or a container", or does it mean "sow them only in the ground, not in containers"?

Mine are sown directly in their final containers (I'd read that they don't like to be transplanted), but if this is not advisable, I'll try them in-ground.

Thanks so much.

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tiG Newnan, GA(Zone 8a) Jun 06, 2001

What about P. somniferum?? Should I wait until fall?

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Zanymuse Scotia, CA(Zone 9b) Jun 06, 2001

They can be sown into pots if they are going to stay in the pot. Just make certain the pot is a deep one for the Tap root to have plenty of depth, I have dug up poppies with taps that are well over 20" deep and bigger around than my wrist! I haver never planted any in pots but have had one plant itself in one of my 1 gal. pots. It did great for awhile but died after 2 years Because the root was crowded and when I tried to plant it out it resented being moved! It seems that the only thing besides round up that will kill them is moving them!

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Essensia San Lorenzo, CA Jun 06, 2001

Hmm, my container is probably too shallow. We'll see what happens, and in the meantime, I'll sow again in a deep pot.

Thanks, Zanymuse. And woodspirit1, I hope you don't mind my adding questions on your thread...hope your poppies turn out beautifully!

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