Poppy question

Discussion in 'Annuals, Biennials, Perennials, Ferns and Bulbs' started by soccerdad, Apr 5, 2009.

  1. soccerdad

    soccerdad Active Member 10 Years

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    A few years ago I planted papaver somniferum seeds indoors and then transplanted them to an area of poor soil. "After all", I thought, "They grow well in Afghanistan where the soil is 60% sand, 20% herbicides, and 20% land mines; they should thrive in even the worst soil". What a dream. The forlorn scrawny straggling plants were indescribably wretched.

    This year I will plant them in better soil.

    But I would still like to start them indoors. Yet everyone says that you can't.

    I wonder if starting them in something that can itself be planted directly in the soil would be OK for them. Not that I know what to use: I have tried starting seeds in peat pots but such pots were so permeable that they dried out unless watered at least three times a day and I just didn't (and don't) have that sort of time. But something must be possible.

    Does anyone have any suggestions?
     
    Last edited: Apr 5, 2009
  2. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    Newsprint pots are great, which you can make by wrapping a tube of newsprint around a tom collins glass and then smooshing the bottom flat. They biodegrade when you plant them, which makes for easy transplants.

    Filling the result with a mix of the same soil of the final planting destination of the poppies should help.

    I'm willing to bet that your seedlings last year got used to the lovely rich soil you sprouted them in, and then got all grumpy and didn't enjoy when you put them in the poor soil. If you start them in the cruddy soils then they shouldn't complain when you move them.
     
  3. Newt

    Newt Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Soccerdad, poppies don't like to be transplanted once they are established. That is because they have a very deep tap root. That is how they survive in their native climate.

    Here's how to make the newspaper pots that Lorax mentioned.
    http://www.budget101.com/articles/article15.htm

    Newt
     
  4. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    Opium poppy is an annual producing a quite limited root system. But it nevertheless does not like to be transplanted. Pick an open sunny spot and sow in place, early in the year - maybe even late summer or fall, the time when the seeds would be shed by existing plants.

    Despite being illegal in the US for 40 years this is one of the most common self-seeding annuals in local gardens. I have even seen them growing along a 50 mph road, in the narrow space between the paving and the thick grasses and other weeds inches away.
     
  5. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Maybe land mines are a good fertiliser? Explosives are often rich in nitrates . . . ;-)

    More seriously, the ones I've seen that have been the largest, healthiest plants are self-sown ones that germinate in autumn and overwinter as rosettes of leaves. They get up to a metre tall and with masses of large flowers.
     
  6. soccerdad

    soccerdad Active Member 10 Years

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    But why does it dislike transplanting?

    If it is because of the long tap root, I have to conclude that the problem is not the transplanting per se, but rather with the fact that the containers in which they are grown prior to be transplanted are not tall enough for the tap root to develop properly; for if they were grown in tall-enough containers, the fact that they have a tap root does not suggest to me that there would be a problem. I transplant parsnips ...
     
  7. lorax

    lorax Rising Contributor 10 Years

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    It could just be that the plant doesn't like to be disturbed once it's established, land mines notwithstanding. Ficus are like that - it's just that poppies are far less robust than trees.
     
  8. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    I wouldn't describe them as having long tap roots. Many plants resent transplanting, being dug up is not part of the natural experience of root systems. Where plants vary is in how they respond to root damage. Many kinds of trees and shrubs can have the roots cut way back and will grow right back; many kinds of bulbs and perennials can be split into fragments and still grow.

    The tops of annuals are giving their all in one go, and will not have a second chance to grow a good top if the roots are damaged or reduced. Flowering and setting seed is the top priority; if prevented from reaching full development opium poppies will even produce miniature tops with one or two petite flowers.
     
  9. WesternWilson

    WesternWilson Active Member 10 Years

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    I grew a bunch in large pots last year just to generate some mixed seed. They do hate transplanting, but planting the pot out should work just fine...you could use a fibrous, permeable pot or just split the sides of a plastic one.
     

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