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Order Poppy Seeds Now
Plant Them in November For
A Magnificent 2019 Garden
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There are 4 species of poppy that are well known to gardeners: Papaver orientale, Papaver nudicaule, Papaver rhoeas and Papaver somniferum. Three of these are legal to grow. The fourth, P.somniferum, the Opium Poppy is not legal to grow. However, it is interesting the way the law is written. It is legal to own Opium Poppy seed, but not legal to grow it. A fifth plant, Eschscholzia aurantiaca, commonly known as the California Poppy, is not a true poppy but has a similar looking blossom. P. nudicaule, the Iceland Poppy, and P. orientale known as the Oriental Poppy are perennials. P. rhoeas, known as the Corn Poppy, Flanders Poppy, or Shirley Poppy depending on the color and E. aurantiaca are annuals. |
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Iceland Poppy, P. nudicaule
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Few people believe me when I tell them that the very best time of year to plant poppies, any kind of poppy, is the late fall. In Hardiness Zones 8-9 poppies struggle with the heat except for the California poppy, but they can be grown as winter annuals if you plant them in the late fall. In Hardiness Zones 1-7, poppies will thrive, especially if they are planted in late fall.
Poppies, when planted in the fall, produce stronger plants in the spring and, I think, the germination rate in the spring is higher.
Unlike some of the seeds which we are discussing in this series that need to germinate and then die back for the winter months, in Zones 1-7, poppy seeds should not germinate in the fall. They need to be sown before the ground freezes hard, but when it is too cold for the seeds to germinate. In most areas, this means November to early December.
A great time to sow poppy seeds is when you are doing the final cleanup of leaves and dead plants from your garden. Once you have raked the leaves and dead foliage, broadcast poppy seeds, like you would grass seed, and then gently rake the soil.
You should not water, and you do not have to pat the soil down. It doesn’t get any easier than this.
Poppies do not transplant well, so forget moving them around once they have germinated in the spring.
There are more than 150 varieties of poppies. They are native to many areas of the world, but most of the poppies with which we are familiar came from Europe and the MiddleEast.
One of the most glamorous of all the varieties is the Iceland Poppy. It is native to Iceland and the northernmost regions of the planet, but it also grows very well in Zones 1-7 in the United States.
The photo above is of Iceland poppies. These glamour girls belong to Jeff VanVoorhis and Susan Fox of Fox Hill Farm in New Freedom, PA. Each June, they put on a show that is a stunner, and though they only last for 2-3 weeks they are truly, truly worth waiting for. |
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Poppy Oriental Scarlet, P. orientale
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The Oriental Scarlet Poppy may be the showiest of the flowers in the early summer garden. Each blossom is a striking orange with a stunning black center and fully 4 inches or more in diameter.
Native to Asia, this poppy is one of the hardiest perennials you will ever grow. It flourishes in Zones 1-6, but can be grown as an annual in Zones 7-8 if the seed is refrigerated for 90 days and then planted in November.
The plants reach a height of 24-30 inches and die back once they have finished flowering. Cut the dead stalks and sprinkle a fast growing annual like zinnias over the area. |
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The California Poppy, E. aurantiaca
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The California Poppy, E. aurantiaca
Buy now for late summer planing!
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As its name suggests, the California Poppy is native to parts of the American West especially California. When the Spanish explorers were sailing north along the coast of what was to become California, they could see the hills of northern California. The California Poppy grew so abundantly on these hills that when they bloomed, the orange and gold blossoms made the hills look like they were on fire. The Spanish were sure the hills were ablaze.
The California Poppy grows best when the seed is planted in October-November in Zones 1-8. The plants are much shorter than real poppies reaching a height of no more than 12-18 inches. |
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Red American Legion Poppy
Make sure you get your seeds before the season ends!
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Of all the stories and legends that I know about the flowers, vegetables and herbs of this world, the story that moves me the most is the story of the Red American Legion Poppy, also known as The Flanders Poppy or the corn poppy. This poppy is an ancient plant that is native to Europe, Asia and Africa where it grows wild and abundantly.
The seed of this poppy can lay dormant beneath the surface of the soil for many decades, but will germinate if the soil is disturbed.
The Red American Legion Poppy has long been a part of the world’s mythological literature and American legend. In the western United States, it is said that the first poppy sprung up on the battleground where Custer died and for that reason, the poppy is often called Custer’s Heart. The American Legion Poppy is an annual, but it is such a prolific re-seeder that many people think it is a perennial.
Interestingly, this poppy goes where the wind blows. In my garden, I plant new seed about every 5 years. During the course of the five years the wind blows the drift of poppies around 2/3 of my garden. Each year the main group is in a different location. I get such a kick out of watching where they show up each year!
In hardiness zones 7-8, the Red American Legion poppy can grow in dappled shade if planted in November or December.
In hardiness zones 1-6, it can be grown, but in these zones it does best when sown in the fall, September through December.
This poppy once covered the fields above the cliffs on the coast of Normandy with intense scarlet blossoms, but as these lands became farmland, the poppies disappeared.
During World War II, the Germans drove the French from this area in an effort to protect the coast from invasion. In the last years of the war, the Germans repeatedly bombed these fields and their bombing disturbed the soils where the poppy seeds had lain dormant for generations.
It is said that as the Allied Forces crested the cliffs on D-Day, they were met with a vision of thousands of blooming red poppies across acres and acres of what had once been French farmland.
Because of this story, the poppy has become known as The Red American Legion Poppy and it is the reason why on Memorial Day, each year, at parades to honor our American Military Heroes, that poppies are distributed.
I do not know how much truth there is to this legend, but I am sure there is some, and of all the ways that we can commemorate the sacrifices of those who have given their lives to protect our freedom, the growing and sharing of a flower may be the best.
We urge all of you to visit our website, www.www.harvesting-history.com to find other Second Season vegetables, flowers and herbs and to order your fall blooming bulbs. All of the seeds discussed in this newsletter are available from our website. |
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| It’s that time of the year again!! Time to start thinking about garlic. Beginning next Tuesday, July 24, 2018 we will start a newsletter series on garlic. By the time we finish this series, you will know all you will ever need to know about choosing, planting and harvesting garlic. Don’t miss it. |
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The Waterlily Crocus
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