How to grow opium poppies
Outdoors
Poppy seeds are best sown directly where they are to grow. From Early March, sow thinly on well-raked, weed-free soil. Do not cover the seeds as light helps them germinate.
Can also be sown in September in areas with mild winters. Over-wintered seedlings will produce larger flowering plants the following spring.
The key to good-sized plants is to thin out seedlings from an early age. Start by thinning to 4 or 5 cm apart then thin again in couple of weeks. Aim to have no less than 10 cm between plants with single flowers, and 25-30 between bushy plants with multiple flowers.
Cloches can be used to encourage early growth; however, beware of slugs entering the cloches and destroying everything. Also, don't neglect thinning at an early stage, or plants started under cloches may become stunted.
Greenhouse
Growing from seed all the way to flower in a greenhouse or polly tunnel will often produce noticeably bigger plants, especially in the case of early-flowering varieties. Sowing onto open ground will give best results but seeds can also be sown in large pots (think 15-30 litres) .
Although direct sowing is much more likely to be successful, with care, opium poppies can be started off in the greenhouse in small pots then transplanted outdoors. This approach is time consuming, but when it works, the results are impressive.
We find 500ml pots the best option and we have used both recycled yoghurt cartons and square black plastic plant pots with equal results.Use a compost with a lot of fibre that will cling together to support a good root-ball. The key to success is transplanting at the right time, with an absolute minimum (aim for zero) of root disturbance. Sow a few seeds in each pot and thin to one or at most two plants per pot. If you can water the pots from below, that will be a bonus as the tiny plants are easy to damage when watering. After a week or two, the compost in the pots will settle and the seedlings may be growing a little spindly. At this time it can be good to add some fresh compost round the seedlings to give them support (this step really does need a lot of care to avoid damaging the seedlings).
>>>to be continued.
Poppy seeds are best sown directly where they are to grow. From Early March, sow thinly on well-raked, weed-free soil. Do not cover the seeds as light helps them germinate.
Can also be sown in September in areas with mild winters. Over-wintered seedlings will produce larger flowering plants the following spring.
The key to good-sized plants is to thin out seedlings from an early age. Start by thinning to 4 or 5 cm apart then thin again in couple of weeks. Aim to have no less than 10 cm between plants with single flowers, and 25-30 between bushy plants with multiple flowers.
Cloches can be used to encourage early growth; however, beware of slugs entering the cloches and destroying everything. Also, don't neglect thinning at an early stage, or plants started under cloches may become stunted.
Greenhouse
Growing from seed all the way to flower in a greenhouse or polly tunnel will often produce noticeably bigger plants, especially in the case of early-flowering varieties. Sowing onto open ground will give best results but seeds can also be sown in large pots (think 15-30 litres) .
Although direct sowing is much more likely to be successful, with care, opium poppies can be started off in the greenhouse in small pots then transplanted outdoors. This approach is time consuming, but when it works, the results are impressive.
We find 500ml pots the best option and we have used both recycled yoghurt cartons and square black plastic plant pots with equal results.Use a compost with a lot of fibre that will cling together to support a good root-ball. The key to success is transplanting at the right time, with an absolute minimum (aim for zero) of root disturbance. Sow a few seeds in each pot and thin to one or at most two plants per pot. If you can water the pots from below, that will be a bonus as the tiny plants are easy to damage when watering. After a week or two, the compost in the pots will settle and the seedlings may be growing a little spindly. At this time it can be good to add some fresh compost round the seedlings to give them support (this step really does need a lot of care to avoid damaging the seedlings).
>>>to be continued.
