bill (castoerp) grew a really beautiful, large poppy bed with shirlies and californias this winter. maybe if we ask him loud enough, he'll post pictures...

Atreelady has California poppies blooming like mad right now. Of course, they aren't "true" poppies (being Eschscholzia californica rather than a papaver), but they are stunning, nonetheless. Since you mention them, I can attest to how well hers are doing. I plan to try them, for sure.

Bill, do post pictures!!

Marcia

Before it became filled in with more permanent plantings, I grew masses of California poppies in my entrance garden. Because they self-seed, I still have them popping up anywhere they can find a space.

Here is a link that might be useful:

several years ago I grew poppies (from seeds)...I don't know what kind but they were REAL poppies. It was a novelity thing. I can say I grew them! I took some pictures (before digital)and that was that. It was labor intensive for the number of flowers I got...could count the number on 2 hands. I got of few of those really neat seed pods too. I am sure I did this over winter.

palmcoaster--very nice. what seeds did you use, from where?

I purchased Eschscholzia mexicana Sun Shades seed from Thompson & Morgan.

did you direct sow, or start them in flats/pots? t&m tells me to plant them in flats, but i'd always heard that poppies transplant poorly.

Palmcoaster, your garden looks absolutely gorgeous. Can we see more pictures?

Here's pic of the poppies. I just sowed them following the instructions on the seed packet, thinned them out carefully (I think thinning is especially important with them). I did't amend the soil or feritilize or even irrigate them (once the seedlings were established). I think the shirley poppies would have probably looked better had I amended and watered a little, but those California poppies are tough.

Bill

I started the poppies in flats and transplanted them to the garden. I pricked them out when there were four leaves. It was a very successful process.

I wish I had an organized photo album of my garden that I could share with you, but what I have is three or four photographs at Photobucket and what is essentially a shoebox full of unlabelled snapshots on my computer.

one final question... when'd you start the seeds?

can you tell i'm really excited about poppies? i LOVE them, but have had only limited success growing them... mostly b/c i chose the wrong varieties.

I started some California Poppies from seed about 2-3 weeks ago, and so far they are doing very well. They were sowed in a Burpee capillary mat growing system for self-watering.

To transplant, however, you have to be careful not to disturb the roots as they are very sensitive to transplanting. What you want to do is keep as much soil/media around the roots as possible if your going to transplant them.

I started mine when the weather got cool in late October-early November. They grew as rosettes all winter and bloomed in March--though maybe the California were a little earlier.

As far as I remember, I sowed the seed in late February and planted out in March.

Although a few seedlings appear in the fall and winter over, most of my self-sown plants appear in January, February and March, blooming in April and early May. When they've gone over, I shake the dead plants over the garden to distribute the seed. When I lived in Virginia I found that the edges of my gravel pathways were perfect nurseries for opium poppies as well as the Californians. I haven't had much success with opiums here, but then I don't have gravel pathways--yet.

Thanks for the nice posts, I have never tried California poppies.

Has anyone had any luck growing poppies in N. Florida?

Prickly poppies grow well here in Gainesville. Have seen a few red ones, but not a poppy expert, so don't know the species.

I love poppies! I may have to try some seeds and see what happens.

I started with on pkg of red ones and only got these so now I have a large bag of seeds.

awww i never grown poppys but they look pretty . Sigh anyone want to trade there poppy seeds for some thing else

I from Ky & of course poppies are easy to grow there,here in Fla/space coast the best time to plant is Nov. & Dec since these are the colder times,but it's still tough going,I actually started putting them in pots because that way you can move them around when needed to avoid the heat NOT the sun,they require a lot more att here fertilizing etc. & yes I have also been successful at transplanting too something they say you can't do, you have to make sure to get ALL of the root it is normally 3 to 4 times as long as the plants,Currently I'm in the middle stage but it's usually over by April or May,Right now I have gigantum popper/sonneferrum in different stages of growth to see how they grow.

Do the Asian type poppies planted in FL come back every year? How about in N. Florida?

I have some Calif poppy seeds that I bought last year and I have no clue where I put the package lol. I need to find them.

I bought china white and an Afghan white from Amazon. With any luck I might try to make a hybred. Some herbicide spilled on my planting table before they sprouted. Old Tordon and the plastic boyyle dry rotted. I need to try again, especiall before its too hot. being in S FL. Maybe make a hybryd with a papaver grown in a hot region and a potent strain, Maybe even mix in one with the large calyx. Seems like these grow in cooler and or arid regeins and have grown some exotics that didnt like the humidity. Also being at sea level is a problem with higher altitude plants. Another thing is the right soil ph, water requirements as to avoid damping off, Seems from what I read sand mixed with a good potting soil for good drainage is good, and suggests not to over water. I am still experimenting and do not even have a sprout yet because I need to replant after the herbicide mess. I am going to start my seeds in trays and transplant like I do all my plants from seed. Seed trays do not need to be too deep and I like sprouts a bit pot bound before transplanting. I have seen poppy fields on tv out in full sun, but its so hot here I think morning sun then shade or partial shade. I do not know what pests will attack the plants yet.. insects, fungus, etc. This experiment could take a while but I grew some in the early 1990s with just my usual way. I used to mix 1/3 white playground sand, 1/3 perlite and 1/3 good top soil. And of course let the soil dry before watering to avoid fungus and root rot. I forgot my formula since then. I do remember using 2 tarps and dumping it all on one, then shoveling it all on the other tarp and going back and forth to mix the soil ingrediants well. From what I read, poppies are legal to grow, and often called "Breadseed Poppies" because the seeds are sprinkled on breads like Bagels. It is just illegal to slice the sides of the calyx and collect the opium oozing out. Seems to me that is like it is ok to grow hemp to make rope or clothes but its illegal to smoke. lol. Cocain plants grow in a high altitude, so sea level probably would not work. Plus where would you get seeds? I oncehad a lot of ethnobotanicals and got seeds thru the Seed savers Exchange where you traded seeds through the mail (before Email), So I had plants from all over the world. They are still around and online but charge fot a membership now. They have all kinds of heirloom fruits and veggies and flowers etc passed down for generations. Beng over regulated and taxed and licenses when in pain is not right. I even bought VA Gold and Burley tobacco seeds to grow my own because a carton of ciggarettes is upards of $50.00... Who can afford that? I didnt get the turkish seeds but most cigarettes have all 3. Turkish is for a pipe. I would like to hybredize a Va Gold and a Burly tobacco plant instead of mixing the dried leaves. From what I read the leaves take a while to cure.

Cali poppy and Oriental poppy are pretty but have no medicinal value. I used to have many exotic flowering plants, mostly Solanacea, but in this day and age you really need an edible landscape. Not just a veggie and fruit garden out back. Many edibles look great in the landscape and if they have fruit, they had flowers. If you can grow food and medicinals, you will be less of a hostage by high prices and over regulations. Soon the feds will want taxes because you grew tomatoes or have an orange tree etc etc! You certianly do not want to sell anything you grow because the feds will be wanting their cut through taxes, even though you bought soil, pots, fertilizer, water, tools, did the labor etc. There is no deduction for these things. Imagine if you drilled your own oil? lol. I am suprized we are not taxed to repair our own car or home. We need a new water heater which is expensive. But you have to pay a fee to put one in, plus probably for an inspection. I say anything you can do yourself to survive and make ends meet is a good thing. If you have extra fruit and veggies to give to a neighbor and their kids or anyone, people might not be broke. Insurance on everything is expensive, like all the other monthly bills that eat the low and middle class alive.

Wally poppies are my favorite flower. I grew up in Greece where every May the country side was filled with acres and acres of blooming oriental poppies.

i love the ones in your picture. Can you share their name and where you bought them?

The key to perfect poppies: You literally just scatter them on the ground, don’t plant. in about two weeks, slightly thin out the smaller sprouts leaving a bit more room for flourishing ones to keep growing.

Now, wait. Only warning is: do not over water. They’re the easiest plant to grow ever. Maybe more on flowering/life on later...

They are incredibly resilient, robust, plants.

- CureVine