Q&A for How to Plant Poppy Seeds

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Will I get a poppy flower the same year I spread seeds on the ground?

Katie Gohmann
Professional Gardener
Katherine Gohmann is a Professional Gardener in Texas. She has been a home gardener and professional gardener since 2008.

Katie Gohmann

Professional Gardener

Expert Answer

You should be sowing your seeds in the fall or winter for a summer bloom, so technically it will be a different year, but your plants will flower the same season you plant them.

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Question

How often do you water poppy seeds until they sprout?

Katie Gohmann
Professional Gardener
Katherine Gohmann is a Professional Gardener in Texas. She has been a home gardener and professional gardener since 2008.

Katie Gohmann

Professional Gardener

Expert Answer

You just want to keep the soil moist. That amount of water will be different for everybody. Be careful not to keep the soil too wet, to avoid damping-off disease. Just check the soil every day and if it's dry, give it some water. Water gently so you don't splash the seeds around!

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Question

Can I plant pods directly into the ground?

Community Answer

No. Poppies need to be sown on the surface, if not in a container where the seeds are folded onto lightly wet paper towel and placed in the fridge for 14 to 29 days.

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How do I know which variety of poppy I have, so I know if the seeds are edible? The seed pods I harvested came from my parents' garden in South Eastern Pennsylvania. The flowers bloomed in the spring, and were orange in color.

Jordanical

Community Answer

If the flower had a pod in the center with a purple, velvet-like texture on it's crown, then it was an Orientele. If it still had a small center sex organ, it could be a Champaigne Poppy. The only other kind that comes in orange is the California Poppy. But Papaver Somniferum seeds are the ones you find in culinary, which don't bloom in orange.

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Question

Is it true that there are WHITE poppy seeds? If so, where can I find them?

Jordanical

Community Answer

Yes, it's true. Papaver somniferum (Var. Album) is what they go by nowadays. You can find them from Vendors who sell 'album' varieties. Here are a couple popular ones you can search the web for: "Izmir Afghan Somniferum Galania Special Seed'' or "White Somniferum Poppy Seed Ikkanshu". Make sure the Vendor has several original photos (NOT stolen off Google Images) or videos of their plants.

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Question

What do poppy seeds look like?

Community Answer

They are tiny little black specks that look like tinsy balls. They are exactly same as those found sprinkled on bread and cakes, you can ask the bakery to show you. Although there are many poppy varieties, the seed looks the same.

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Question

My 3-week-old poppy plant got broken, can I still harvest seeds from it?

Community Answer

If it survives to produce a flower you can harvest the seeds, but if it is broken it will likely die.

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Question

Do poppy seeds that are bought in a store have a shelf life? If yes, what's the expiration date for those seeds?

Community Answer

All seeds have a shelf life. Check the back of the packet, there should be a "sell by" date. You can still plant your seeds after that date, but it's likely that fewer of them will come up.

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Question

I accidentally dropped some poppy seeds close together in one patch of soil. They have rooted and have leaves. Will they survive? Should I transplant them out to a bigger space?

Community Answer

Leave them be, and thin them out as they get bigger. Poppies do not transplant well, they usually die in the process. They definitely have a chance at surviving in the soil where you've put them.

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Question

When is the best time to plant poppy seeds? Would it be too cold in the fall in a northern climate?

Community Answer

Sow (lightly sprinkle) your seeds over lightly dampened, loose soil (soil that has little nutrients--poppy seeds like this) during the fall, in northern climates, for best germination results. It seems these seeds do well to germinate in cool/cold seasons when it will eventually frost.

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Question

Is it the same as stratification if I put my poppy seeds in the freezer and then outside?

Community Answer

Yes. It's also beneficial to allow a few times in and out of the freezer. Freeze.Thaw. Freeze. Thaw. Then plant. This replicates the experience the seeds would have prior to germinating in the wild.

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Question

I recently bought a bag of reduced-for-quick sale blue poppy seeds from a supermarket sourced from Czech Republic. These seeds are intended for culinary use. Will they grow if planted?

Community Answer

Yes, blue grows. If you plant then they will grow. Blue ones. They are culinary but they will grow plant them.

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