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Poppy seed
I have always sown my seed into pots and trays then pricked them out etc because sowing straight into the ground doesnt work for me. I dont get anything come through. How do others sow HP and HB seed for poppies/ also if I cut the seed heads off will it still prolong the flowering season or should I leave them to self seed
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This year I'm experimenting, I am cutting off the first seed heads to see if any new buds appear. I will leave some heads on later to ensure that I get some seed.
I dead head the majority of mine but I am leaving 2 different ones so that I have seeds for next year. I am obviously lucky and just sprinkle mine around the garden.
I leave the seed heads on and they self seed, from one plant that came from nowhere i now have a patch of lovely large red poppy's and one yellow which again just arrived, probably birds.
Frank.
As it is another rainy day I have spent another morning in the greenhouse but I luv it . I have been setting a load of seed including my poppy seed in 6ins pots . I then leave it outside amongst the border plants . It is the next nearest thing to setting directley in the ground for me. I then transfer the whole lot in a clump.
I leave the heads on mine and let them self seed. i also cut a good few heads and save the seed for my homenade bread.If I want them elsewhere in th garden, i just cut the whole plant when it is dry, and shake it in the general area where I want them to grow. You can always transplant any that seed in the 'wrong' place.
I collected 6 different types of poppy seeds from friends and neighbours last year and scattered the whole lot across a bed under my magnolia tree. I'm disappointed to say that not one plant came up. Not a sausage! I'm gutted to say the least. Yet nextdoor have plants coming up all along the tarmac path and in cracks of walls. What did I do wrong? Am I likely to get some next year instead?
Poppies like disturbed soil, give the ground a good hard raking and see what happens. It might be too late for this year but it's worth a try I guess.
I sowed some poppies as late as October last year in my Mother in Laws garden and they started flowering beautifully and early about a month ago and are still going now.
I had the same problem with Welsh poppies. I scattered the seed all around the garden, along the edges of walls and even cracks in the drive. Not a bean! All I have are the few that self-seeded arounf my original plant.
Actually Doris I've had a rethink about my advice, wait til early October, rake it over chuck some more seeds down and you should have strong flowers early next summer.
Many thanks I'll try that. Someone told me that poppy seeds are known to lie dormant in the ground for years and then suddenly pop up. Fingers crossed.