The 3 foot tall plants with blue green foliage carry an abundance of lovely 3 inch, papery blooms in shades of purple, dark pink, and light pink. Some are double and some are single. The seed pods that follow the blooms can be as big as golf balls and provide a bounty of brown poppy seeds for use in baking.

300 seeds

PLANTING

Papaver somniferum

Annual

Germination: 7-14 days

Germination Temperature: Optimum soil temperatures 55-65F

Seed Planting Depth: Sow deep.

Starting Indoors: Difficult to transplant, not recommended. Roots and stems are fragile. Sowing into individual biodegradable peat/cow pots reduces rootdamage when transplanting. Sow 2-3 seeds per cell/pot. Transplanta few weeks before last frost.

Sowing Outdoors: Early spring as soon as the ground can be workedor in the fall. Sow a few seeds every6-9” or prepare a weed free seed bedandsprinkle down seeds. Thin theseedlings6-9” apart.Do not startpoppies in hot weather. Germination and growth will be poor sow them in late fall to early spring.

Growth Habit: Upright

Height and Width: 30-36 x 18-24

Spacing: 6-9 apart

Light Needs:Full sun, part shade in hot climates

Soil Needs: Average,loamy, sandy, well-drained

Approximate days to flower from seed: 60-70 days, late spring to early summer

Uses: Flower beds, cottage and wildflower gardens, cut flowers, attracts pollinators

Care:Leave the flowers and pods on to self-seed for the following season. Deadhead flowersandpods if you don’t want them to self-seed. Seed pods can be used for dried arrangements or left in the garden for winter appeal.