I think the disturbed soil may well be the answer.
I've spent years sprinkling poppy seed in the borders & hoping it will take. Most of the time nothing.
Last year we pulled everything out of a bed, dug it all over to try to get rid of the bindweed, filled it with bulbs & rose bushes.
This year it is totally smothered in mauve & purple poppies. None of the large varieites, more the wild ones that I sprinkled from the field. Still, it proves the theory. They'd obviously been lying dormant until the soil was dug over.
I'll let some self seed but will collect dry heads & probably guess they should be planted in spring in seed trays.
Posts
I think the disturbed soil may well be the answer.
I've spent years sprinkling poppy seed in the borders & hoping it will take. Most of the time nothing.
Last year we pulled everything out of a bed, dug it all over to try to get rid of the bindweed, filled it with bulbs & rose bushes.
This year it is totally smothered in mauve & purple poppies. None of the large varieites, more the wild ones that I sprinkled from the field. Still, it proves the theory. They'd obviously been lying dormant until the soil was dug over.
I'll let some self seed but will collect dry heads & probably guess they should be planted in spring in seed trays.