poppies

how to get popies seed to grow I palnted popie seeds 3 times last year the year last I tryed they never came up whats wrong the seeds where the free seeds the home gardening club sends out.

I think your problem is that they were the free seeds that the home gardening club sends out...I've heard of other people who've had trouble with their free seeds. So it might not be anything you're doing wrong. I'd go get some from a reputable seed vendor and try them again. I've never started poppies from seed so I don't have any good tips for you, hopefully someone else will come along and give you some advice, but given where you got the seeds from I wouldn't be surprised if you do everything 100% right and still don't get any to germinate.

Plant~ I agree, it's the free seeds!! I received some from a national home gardening club and they either DUDS or they germinated WEEDS!! I had good success with wintersowing my poppy seeds received in seed swaps or trades here on Dave's. Yet, my neighbor direct sows her poppy seeds with the first snow and has lovely poppies each year.

Poppies are normally one plant that once you have them in the garden, you have them pop up for life, the best way I have for starting these seeds is in a 6 inch pot with good damp compost, sew the seeds on the surface of the damp soil and dont cover them over, if you need to water before the seeds germinate, just mist the top of the pot, once the seeds come through, wait till 2 sets of true leaves grow, then if the weather is warm enough, separate the seeds into the garden area you want them to grow, or pot them into individual pots or trays, keep watering them ONLY when required, and in a couple of months, they should be a fairly good size plant, if they are annuals, they will not flower gain next year, but they will pop open the seed heads and scatter their seeds everywhere, if they are perannials, then they may not flower good this year as they need to build up a good root system before flowering well, but next year you should have really great flowers, by the way, the paper thin petals are ruined if it rains, the other secret for all poppies is to cut off the dying flowers as you dont want the plants to make seeds instead of flowers, you will only require ONE seed head to give you thousands of seeds for the following year. good luck. WeeNel.

Isn't Waynesville in the mtns? If it is, you will still have a bit of cool weather and should be able to try it again with fresher seed.
WeeNel is correct about surface sowing. Poppies need light to germinate. If you decide to plant them in pots or trays, you may want to use ones that you can cut away from the seedlings. Poppies are notoriously difficult to transplant. I've had great success with the hunk of seedlings method...cutting the pot away from the seedlings, cutting the group into halves or fourths, and planting the hunks in the ground. Less disturbance to the roots that way.

PLANTS555 - I'm no expert, but I will tell you what I have had luck with . A dear elderly ( 90+) lady taught me this. Of course this is for the southern states. We "plant" poppy seeds in October - not in the spring here. Yes, not those free ones either from the mail.

As for planting, just dig up your bed, smooth the soil. Throw the seed on top of the ground. Do NOT cover up with soil or mulch . By January the plants should be large enough to thin. This is another MUST. I leave my plants no closer than 12", and that is still close. I might have 50 plants that means to pull up within that 12", but it will be worth it.They will get so much bigger and stronger. Once your poppies bloom ( mine are just beginning to bloom here in mid Mississippi) let the seed pods dry up. They will turn brown.Turn the pods over and catch the seeds in a container , or just let nature take its course and it will blow them all over your garden and they will come up on their own next year.

I was planning to have poppies in my garden. I also bought two packets, one of Papaver rhoeas and the other says Perennial, but it doesn't identify the species. In the photo they are black in the centre..But I'm not sure about what to do. The packets say you must sow them in spring, directly on site but where I bought them they told me to sow them during fall. Do you really advise using a pot?

I don't know about your area. Maybe you can go to the POPPY FORUM and ask someone there ! Lots of knowledgeable people there.

I have never planted in a pot. I always plant in the ground.

Unfortunately that's one of the forums that's only open to subscribers

sorry, I didn't realize this thread was not for subscribers ! That explains why there are no hyperlinks. Dummy me !