Sorry this is probably a really stupid question. I have a self seeded California poppy in the garden. I want to collect some seeds from it. How do i do this?
Our Californian poppies flowered all the way till September last year , so I guess you will have a while to wait before you can get any seeds , but I am no expert .
Hello , I have just been informed by the mrs that as a flower falls off it leaves underneath it , a long green pod that looks like a bit like a green bean . These contain the seeds
You will need to wait until the flowers have faded and the small pods containing the seeds have formed. Do not remove the pods until they rattle when the stems are shaken. This is when the seeds are ripe. If the pods are picked before this the seeds will not grow.
Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
Perhaps you have figured this out by now, California Poppy seeds are tricky to collect. I have hundreds of plants on my property but never manage to get more than a handful of seeds each year. When collecting the seed pods after they have turned beige or brown, they have the tendency to pop open in your hand with seeds shooting out in all directions. You may even want to wear goggles when collecting. The pods are less inclined to pop open unexpectedly in the morning or during cloudy weather when the humidity is high. This year I have tried a new approach: I have stretched out a piece of clear plastic under the plants, allowing the seeds to accumulate on the plastic. I then take a small, hand-held vacuum to collect the seeds before rain washes them all away. California Poppies are among my favorites in the garden. They are great along building walls, flower beds or fence lines.
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