Poppy sowing advice needed

17 years ago

Hi -- I am an experienced gardener, yet have grown almost nothing from seed. I bought tons of annual poppy seed this year, but got my act together too late to plant. Am thinking winter sowing is the way to go. I live in the Gulf Islands of BC, Canada (just north of the San Juans in WA state) -- we're a z8 and often windy. So here are my questions, with many thanks in advance:

(1) I have cedar mulch all over my beds, and it was definitely necessary with this brutal winter. (As well as for keeping weeds down in the spring.) How do you sow poppy seeds and still keep the mulch?

(2) Will my seeds still be viable in 9 or 10 months?

(3) Is it better to sow in November or February?

Thanks so much!

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Comments (3)

gjmancini
17 years ago
I have luck storing poppy seeds for 3-4 years with out any problems. i wouldnt direct sow into the mulch, I dont think youll have that much success with germination. I dont know about growing in zone 8.
karendee
17 years ago
I DS into mulch and not one poppy has sprouted except my WS ones.

I also do not get any re-seeders so this does make sense to me now.

I will collect my poppy seeds this year and WS them all.

Karen
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morz8 - Washington Coast
17 years ago
How do you sow poppy seeds and still keep the mulch?

You pull back the mulch, loosen the soil underneath a little and scatter the seeds. When the plants are up, push the mulch back up to the poppies but not covering crowns.

The forecast is for a couple of nice days (tomorrow and Friday) followed by a cool showery wetter weekend. It might be a good time to try sowing at least some of your poppy seeds, you still have time to grow and harvest pods for seed.