Poppy seeds are easy to sow and germinate without any problems. It just shouldn't be too warm and/or too wet during the germination period. If the seed capsules ripen on the plant, your poppy will even sow itself.
How can you sow poppies correctly?
Sowing poppy seeds correctly: Scatter seeds directly at the location on a prepared bed, mix with sand, add a little soil over them and keep them only slightly moist. Poppy prefers dry, sunny locations and well-drained soil, germination time is 10-20 days.
This shows you how easy sowing is if the location is right. It should be dry and get as much sun as possible. The poppy also likes a permeable soil as it cannot tolerate waterlogging at all.
Where do you get the seeds from?
You can safely take the seeds for your future poppy from your own existing plants. As a rule, they germinate without any problems. If you don't have any plants from which you can take seeds or if you would like to have a different variety in your garden, such as the double peony poppy or the ground-covering alpine poppy, then you will find a wide selection of seeds (€2.00 on Amazon) in specialist shops.
Sowing poppies correctly
Poppy seeds have long taproots and are therefore difficult to prick out. For this reason, you should sow it directly in the desired location. If this is not possible, sow in pots. You only plant the seedlings when they have become strong young plants. Then place the root balls from the pots completely into the soil, even if several plants are growing in them.
Sprinkle fine poppy seeds widely onto the prepared bed. To make this easier, you can mix the seeds with a little sand. After sowing, cover the seeds with a little soil because they are light germinators. During the germination period, which lasts about 10 - 20 days, the seeds should always be slightly moist, but not wet.
The best tips for sowing:
- If possible, sow directly at the desired location
- sow widely
- If necessary, mix seeds with a little sand
- hardly cover with soil – light germinator
- Keep seeds only slightly moist
- piking difficult
Tips & Tricks
The poppy doesn't just fit into the classic cottage garden. Why not sow the white alpine poppy in your rock garden or the up to one meter high Turkish poppy in a sunny corner of the garden.
