Ok. I want to grow a FIELD of red poppies - much like the Monet painting.
I understand that you toss the little seeds on the ground surface and
just rake a little, and water,and wait.... And redo this everty year,
because I don;t think they can survive the winters here.
I had this catalog for nothing but wild flowers and seeds - they had
poppy mixes. Only I can't find it anymore.
Where can I get a bagful of red poppy seeds, cheap, reliable?

16 responses total.

I have a yardful of naturalized red poppies that came with the property in
1986.  Come dig up a few in June, they spread and thrive despite complete
neglect and a lot of shade.  But they are not a ground cover, expect other
things to be sharing the ground with them.  A friend has the double variety.
California poppies, the little orange annuals, will reseed for many years.
That kind of poppy is all I got in my mix from Hertler's.
FOr a higher yield of seeds you could start them indoors, but they are very
cold-hardy and can be planted in April or sooner, once the ground thaws.

So they DO survive the winters then? Surprising, considering their
seeds are right at the surface of the soil...
I am glad they are cold hardy.... I hate replanting. I have a bag
of poppy seeds - but it may be a couple of years old at least. I wonder
how they will turn out.

You could try sprouting a few now (in a warm spot) to see if they are viable.
I am not saying all poppies will survive here, just that mine do.  Usually
if you buy seeds in a labelled package they will give you some idea of the
climatic requirements.  Do you know what kind you have?

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Of course, and take some home with you in a pot.  Remind me when you
notice them blooming, I forget which month to expect them.  June?

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Yes, I would notice the blooms, but I may forget to call you.  They are all
over town, call if you notice any blooming.  (Right now would be nice...).

Okay, here is my bag of poppies. "Perennial Oriental Poppy" - Burpee.
Brilliant Red. Note to self on package "Will not bloom the year planted"
(the woman at the nursery said that).
They grow 3 ft. tall in May-June, in a sunny location, spring to mid-summer.
Do not transplant.
Barely cover seeds with fine soil. Seedlings emerge in 10-20 days. Protect
in winter with mulch.
Grown in Germany.
I'll start them in a little pot indoors & see what happens.

If you have no luck, I can give you lots of plants, they spread.

Our yard is covered with poppy plants, we are composting many of them since
we planted a few other things in holes today, everyone is welcome to 20 or
30 of them.  We also have a few extra forsythia bushes, as I just discovered
our big bush seems to have rooted a few years ago, any takers for a bush? 
(Today we finally planted an exotic vine, and exotic bush, and five
juneberries sent us as a surprise this week.  The two pawpaw trees and the
two older juneberries and the plum and two clove currants are or will be in
flower soon, stop and see).

I want poppies & forsythia bushes....! Maybe this weekend?

Call (see my plan) and find a time.  Probably Sat or Sun afternoon, or any
evening this week.  Bring a bucket, you can have 3 forsythias and 50
poppies if you want.   Do you have extras of any perennials that don't
need full sun?   You are also welcome to a tour of the house that we are
building inside the garden.

Great! I will give you a call then.
I don't have any perennials for shade...other than 2-3 bleeding hearts.
But they are pretty small...not ready to divide and give away though....

My neighbor across the street has planted poppies sometime last year.
He has mutant poppies coming up - they are lush, fat, thickly planted
and are growing densely , covering entire areas completely. They have
huge buds... This is going to be exciting. I envy him.

Our first two poppies opened yesterday.  THe pawpaws are just past full bloom,
lots of dame's rockets.  Too late to transplant poppies this year.

Oriental poppies are perennial and hardy in our area, but there are
many varieties of poppies that are self-seeding annuals, such as
california poppies and corn poppies (papaver rhoas).  Ken and I
saw wild corn poppies growing all over Italy in May, particularly
all around the train tracks.  I have a book about poppies, and I'm
particularly eager to grow blue annual poppies (I forget the
botanical name), but I always forget to plant the seeds early
enough (no later than March, I believe).

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