You can easily get corn poppy seeds from your own plants. Do not cut back your poppy after flowering as this will allow the seed pods to ripen. The seeds are ripe when they are released from the capsule by shaking gently.
How do you collect and sow corn poppy seeds?
You can easily get corn poppy seeds from your own plants by letting the seed capsules ripen after the flowering period and loosening the seeds by shaking them. Sow the seeds directly in the desired location, in well-drained soil and in full sun. Keep the seeds slightly moist during germination.
Collect seeds yourself
The poppy seeds itself after flowering or you collect the seeds that have just ripened to sow them elsewhere. If you don't want to sow straight away, keep the seeds cool and dry. You should then use these seeds next year. If you sow later, the germination potential may be considerably lower.
Buy seeds
Of course, you can also purchase corn poppy seeds commercially, just like seeds for other poppy varieties. Here you even have the choice between different color variants. There are now also cultivated forms of wild poppies, for example white corn poppies or flowers in delicate pink tones.
Sowing corn poppies
It's best to sow the corn poppy right where you want it to grow. Because it has long taproots, the young plants cannot be pricked out particularly well. You can start sowing in March, but you can also wait until the flowering period in May or June. This is the time when the poppy seeds itself.
Poppies germinate relatively easily. The soil should be permeable and the location should be in full sun if possible. Mix the seeds with a little sand to make them easier to scatter. Sow widely directly outdoors and only cover the seeds with a little soil.
The seeds should always be kept slightly moist during the germination period. After about one to two weeks the first seedlings will appear. The ideal germination temperature is approx. 15 – 20 °C. Only water the young plants when it is particularly dry.
The most important things in brief:
- Buy or collect seeds
- Creed forms in different colors
- sow directly at the future location
- cover only a little with soil
- Keep seeds slightly moist
Tips & Tricks
The corn poppy is an annual plant and must be sown every year if it is not allowed to self-seed.
