Beautiful poppies in multiple shades of magenta, lavender, coral, red, and purple. Papaver somniferum, commonly known as the opium poppy or breadseed poppy, grown wild and wonderfully in the Tanglewood Gardens! Now you can enjoy growing them too.
Bees love the gorgeous flowers. Edible seeds are abundant in dry pods. Self sows freely. Remove pods to prevent self seeding. Fresh and dried pods are lovely in flower arrangements.
Poppy seeds need light to germinate and do best when seeded in cool temperatures. Direct seed in early spring: broadcast and rake very lightly. Thin to 4-6” apart to get robust, multi-branched, multi-flowered plants. Poppies prefer full sun and rich soil.
400 seeds
Growing Tips:
• Poppy seeds need light to germinate. Cover seed with no more than 1/8 inch of soil.I use sand to cover, just a bare skiff to prevent them from blowing away
• Seeds also germinated better when exposed to freezing and thawing conditions; therefore, sow seeds either in late fall or very early spring.
• Plant in full sun, with average water (Not in low spots or ultra dry)
• They love fluffy soil (like the garden)
• To increase your supply (enough for poppy seed bread or reseeding, etc) plant initial packet of seeds as a row in the veggie garden. Thereafter, in later years, scatter as desired in other locations for beautification purposes
• They will self sow in garden so watch for seeds in early spring before turning the soil
• Harvest seeds when seed heads turn brown and are dry in late summer. Preferably before they crack open and begin to naturally self sow. Store in cool, dark, warm place in a paper bag until seed-heads naturally open. To process, shake seed heads I upset de down nto deep bowl to get the seeds out. Store seeds in mason jar in cool dark place. Will remain viable for 3-4 years if stored properly.
Happy growing! 😊🌷
