Growing Organic Poppy from Seed

We've just added Organic California Poppy at Mary's Heirloom Seeds.  Adding poppies to the garden adds color, food for bees and can help deter pests!  


From Mary's Heirloom Seeds,

This brilliant orange wildflower is California's state flower, but it will grow in a variety of regions. Satiny petals grow on multi-branched, slender 8"-24" stems. Finely dissected leaves are blue-green. Blooms close at night or on overcast days. Grows with little maintenance and re-seeds heavily.
Flowers: Deer resistant. Blooms spring to late summer
Attracts: Attracts bees, butterflies, and beneficial insects
Soil: Prefers slightly acidic, well drained soil
Native: California
USDA Zone: 3-9
Plant In: Fall or Spring
Planting Depth: 1/16"
Days to Germinate: 15-30 Days
Height At Maturity: 8"-24"
Sun/Shade Requirements: Full Sun
Water Needs: Light Water

Why Plant Poppies?
For the BEES!  Flowers are an excellent additional to any garden as they attract pollinators.  Growing organic flowers will help save the bees and butterflies.  Attracting pollinators to your garden can increase crop yields.


To deter Rabbits, The Georgia Center for Urban Agriculture suggests planting poppies, geranium, iris, narcissus, yucca or meadow sage.

New growth begins in the fall when temperatures are cool and getting colder; new shoots sprout from the sleeping roots. Foliage unfurls until it forms a mound. This mound of green will stay there through the winter. It won’t grow much, but it won’t die, either.
In spring, the growth begins again and the clump sends up long stems of bright flowers. By July and August, the heat is too much for the delicate foliage. Oriental poppies are supposed to go dormant in midsummer. In fall, when the weather cools, they come back stronger than before. The clumps will become larger each year, but will never be invasive.
So, based on their growth habits, spring and fall answers the question of when is the best time to plant oriental poppies and the rule of green-thumb is spring where the winters are cold and fall where the winters are warm.



Seeds should be sown in spring, or for hardier annual varieties such as those included in the California poppy family, early to mid fall. These, providing that they are kept sheltered and frost free throughout the winter, will mature earlier than their spring sown counterparts, ensuring an early bout of flowering. After approximately 14 to 28 days depending on the variety, poppy flower seeds will start to germinate, sending up tiny spindling green shoots. At this time, when seedlings are large enough to nip with fingertips, it is important to ensure that numbers of thinned out to ensure that a few strong, healthy plants develop instead of large numbers of weedy plants which will ultimately not flower well.


Pests and Diseases
Poppies are seldom bothered by pests or diseases. Their resistance to pests or diseases is advantageous because they often react adversely to sprays. The best solution is prevention. Space plants so they have good air circulation. Do not over water. Plant them in soil with good drainage.
Aphids may attack young plants in bud. Wash them off with a hard spray of water from the garden hose or, in severe cases, use an insecticidal soap spray.

Four-legged creatures such as ground hogs may find the plants tasty. The only protection against them is a humane trap that allows you to capture and transport the animals elsewhere.

Downy mildew, a fungus, can be a problem for young plants. Its symptoms include yellow blotches on the upper sides of leaves with a gray mold on the undersides. Because of their sensitivity to sprays, chemical or otherwise, your best cure is prevention, as noted above.   


From Health Guide Info,







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