Sow Poppy Seed Early
Carnation poppy, "French Flounce"
Shirley Poppies can-can dance in the wind
Buy poppies early
If you happen to run into a seed clearance, stock up. Now is the time to look for seeds on sale that you plant this fall or next spring. These garden seed are what we call "cool season crops".
As garden seeds go on clearance, I stock up on my favorites, poppy seeds. Write on your annual calendar to plant them on Valentine's Day. Meanwhile, store your seeds in a cool, dark, dry place.
Most poppy seed will last til the until the next planting season. I am ordering my earliest spring- planted seed now. It's on sale and I want to have plenty of seed on hand, should we have an early spring. Especially poppies.
Poppies are the first and earliest seed I plant in the spring. The secret to success with poppies, is to plant poppies early. Plant seeds earlier than you think. I found a good selection of poppy seeds, herbs and flowers on sale at Renee's Garden.
In my zone 6 garden, I will sow poppies in February or March. If you need a reminder, remember to sow them on Valentine's Day. Direct sow these ity, bity seeds in the garden.
Poppies are a member of the carrot family and have a long taproot. This long fragile root system makes transplanting difficult. Sow these seed where you would like for them to bloom.
I'll sow poppies outdoors, when I start tomato seeds indoors. If you wait til April or May, it is too late for the best crop.
Because the seed are so little, they are difficult to space properly. Mix the poppy seed with a bit of sphagnum peat moss or sand to help you distribute the seed more evenly. Plant all annual poppy seed early, they can survive the nip of late frost.
