Here are some of mine. Its been so cold they havny made much progress.
Annual Poppy talk
Had my eyes examined today the drops havnt worn off. Sorry if the focus is bad. Everything looks like this today
Here is the plant further on. Last years photo.
I went to find the newly germd. poppies and couldnt get past the water in the edge.
Tons of larkspur.
I was out today and saw bazillions of weenie poppies. I think its premature to look for germination before the out door temps are in the 60-70.We have had 48 hours of temps in the 70's with 60's at night. Poppies popping everywhere.
Especially where I thought I had lost them.
I dont remember where I posted the pix of the germed poppy from last fall.
I obcessed about all the realy germinated ones.
I saw this one in Nov. barely 1/2 inch tall.
I figured it had heat from the granit slab it was next to.
I watched it all winter, sometimes thought it was dead.
It was still there in April and now its really churning along. It has to be the Nice Red that grew in the area.
I planted some red Corn Poppies (Papaver rhoeas) last year and a few of them reseeded and grew like crazy this year. All were single flowers last year, so imagine my surprise when this one bloomed! Is this normal? If I collect the seeds and replant, and I'm likely to get this same flower, or will it most likely be singles? It's on it's second bloom now, and the second one looks just like this one! It's so pretty! I'm positive that I had no flowers that looked like this last year!
Natalie
The gods have shinned on me.Picasa is working.Dont ask how it happened.Maybe Alison was right,maintenence maybe.
[HYPERLINK@picasaweb.google.com]
Natalie I love that RED poppy.
Very nice pics GE!
I have had annual poppies re-seeding for probably 20 years. It is so fun to see what shows up. Originally, they were all peony orchid blooms. Then, they started blooming with single coral petals with a lavender eye. This year, I have single pink, peony orchid, peony hot pink, peony red and the coral with the lavender eye. I have never bought seed for 20 years, they have just evolved.
I love plants.
I just asked my neighbor if he knew anything about my red poppy that I posted the picture of above. He said it's an Heirloom Poppy, but I don't know what that's supposed to mean! This is only my second year with annual poppies, and all of them are ones that came back from seed that was dropped from the ones I planted last year. The neighbor said I should cut down all of the other "regular" poppies so that there is less chance of these "heirloom" ones being cross-pollinated, and these should come back next year looking like the one above. I'd hate to cut down all the other regular poppies, but I'm totally willing to do it if it would give me a better chance of getting the ones that look like this very pretty one! Does anyone know if this is true?
Here's a picture of the ones that I'll have to cut down!
Natalie
Here is the plant that has the super frilly poppies that I'd love to get seed from. It's at the other end of the flower bed that I posted above.
Natalie
great photos.
I a not sure but they look like Shirlies.
ge, They are Shirlies. The label said Red Corn Poppy, which is the same thing. I also bought a Shirley Corn Poppy Mix which didn't reseed nearly as well as the red ones did. I've only got 2 pink ones that came up this year from reseeding.
I'm seriously thinking about cutting all of the singles down in order to get some seeds from the super pretty one. It's strange that I didn't have even one of these in the garden last year, and all of them this year were from seeds that dropped last year, so I thought it was just a fluke. It may be just a fluke, but I'd sure love to get a whole garden full of these super pretty ones! I love the single poppies, but these are way better!
Natalie
Do you mean the doubles?
I tries Shirlies and they just didnt like it here.
ge, The singles are Shirlies for sure. The double, or whatever it is, came from one of the singles reseeding last year. I had none that looked like this last year, and I planted no new seed, so it has to be from one of the singles reseeding. My neighbor said it's an heirloom. The color is exactly like the singles, and in all the years I've lived here, I've never had a poppy appear on it's own, so it has to be from the Shirley seeds that I planted last year. The flower looks almost like a papery carnation!
Have you tried the red ones? They grew so much better for me than the other colors. My Dad grows them in his zone 3 garden and he also has better luck with the red ones.
Natalie
I wonder if the double seeds will grow true or produce a random clump of singles and doubles.
According to my neighbor they will be doubles if they aren't cross pollinated with the singles. His family owns one of the oldest nurseries in the area, so he probably knows what he's talking about, but I'd still like another opinion before I take out all the single poppies. They are all pretty, but I'd like to get a better chance of getting the doubles if I can. My Dad has been growing these for many years and has never seen a double. I bought the seeds from the same feed store in Oregon that he buys all of his seeds, and it's always the same supplier.
Natalie
It will be interesting to see where this goes.
Poppies and Fata Morgana lily,its so rainy and drippy they dont stay great looking.
Love these with lilies and echies
I originally posted this on the Seed Collecting forum, but haven't had a reply, or I thought I'd try it here too. If anyone can help, I'd sure appreciate it!
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There is a very small art gallery not too far from me that has the most amazing pink poppies out front. For the last four years, I've tried to find someone there to ask if I could have a seed pod or two, without any luck. I've never seen the gallery open, so I've never been able to ask anyone! I've called and left messages, and taped a note or two to the door, but no one has returned my call. Whenever I think the seeds should be ready to harvest, I drive past and all of them have been cut down to the ground, and I can't find a trace of a seed head anywhere!
I'm wanting to know if I can cut the seed pods off before they are ready, and let them age at home. I've never tried this, so I have no idea if this will work or not. I have no idea what kind of poppies they are. I think they are probably annuals that reseed, but I'm not sure. I'm more than willing to cut off a few seed heads if they will survive, since the plant is cut to the ground every year.
Any help is most appreciated!
Natalie
It is possible to cut pods.
It IS necessary to wait until the plants begin to wilt and the bottom leaves are browning,not necessarily all the way brown.
Cut the pods off but leave at least 1/2 to 2/3 rest of the stem and place the whole plant upside down in a paper bag. Let the plant continue to die off and seeds ripen.
Dont tie the bag too tight there needs to be air circulation .
The bag with plants should be allowed to mature in a warm dry spot,Garage, back porch or someplace other than a damp basement,
This message was edited Jul 5, 2011 4:43 AM
Thanks so much ge. That is exactly what I needed to know!
Natalie
Good luck I hope you get to the poppies brfore they are gone again.
This is the method I use for annual somnifariums. I cant guarantee it will work on other annual varieties. If the plants are bluegreen serated leaves they are somnifariums. If the plants are light green or bright green they may be Shirlies.
I would give it a try in any event, just forthe heck of it.
I forgot to say,when the leaves are completely dead( about a month) there will be a deposit of seeds in the bottom of the bag.
thanks from me also. I just pull mine up roots adn all, bundle them together two or three to a bunch (labeled) then hand them upside down in the garage from an overhead rack. Hadn't thought about trapping the seed heads in bags. And I suppose hanging the entire stalk just delays the drying process. I thought it might help them mature better. So perhaps not?
My reason for nhuntly's cutting was so there wouldnt be any evidence of pulling.In a big patch its possible to select one here and one there so the patch doesnt look invaded.
Just incast the gallery has qualms about sharing their poppies.
I doubt they care.
I have my eye on this bunch'a seed pods. I will yank this any day now.Its "Nice Red" I collected seeds from it 3 years ago,it was a great color in a Somnifarium mix.
I hope the browning leaves at the bottom show in this pix.
so that yuck at the bottom of the plant happens to everyone. I thought I was overwatering or something. Looks yukky. But the plants are 3' tall and have tons of blooms with really thick stems. I will try the 'cut the stem' versus yanking roots and all. It makes a terrible mess in my garage.
I can't imagine that the gallery would mind if I took a seed pod or two, but I doubt they would appreciate me yanking out an entire plant! Then again, they have so many, I doubt they would even notice, but I'm not about to do something like that! They cut them down to the ground every year as soon as they are looking a bit ragged, and if I could find someone there, I'd prefer to ask permission, but I'm just going to take a couple of pods. No harm done that way, and I don't feel like I'm stealing anything. I can tell that they are dragging them to the dumpster because of the trail of stuff left behind, and the plants are never done blooming when they do this.
I've never yanked my plants out to save seeds. I just let the seed pods dry on the plant and cut them when they are ready. I put the pods with some stem in a bag and let the seeds fall out over time, or I'll shake the pods to remove the seeds if I have nothing better to do. I can't imagine the mess from hanging the whole plant in the garage! I was just worried about cutting the pods off before they were dry, since I know I'll miss my chance to get a couple at the galary if I wait that long.
Natalie
O K just leave quite a bit of stem.This continues to nourish the seedpod while the seeds ripen.
Thick stem pulling would knock me over.
ge, I'll do that. I need to go see how they are doing, but I'm hoping to cut a very long stem, and hopefully it will have some leaves on it too. When cutting the pods in my own yard, I just wait until they are dry and cut the stem back to where it branches off the main stem. That way I have something to hang on to if I decide to shake them.
Natalie
I harvest pods because sometimes the original plant is in an area where its not wanted. Just a controle issue with me.
This is Hens and Chicks a new variety for me.
I like that one ge!
Seems like I'm outside cutting off pods half the day because I also have them growing where I don't want them! They are so pretty that I hate removing them when they are seedlings, but I know how out of control they can get. Last year I had a bed just for poppies and wildflowers, but I had so many seeds in there that it was insane. This year, I tried pulling up most of what came back from seed, and it's much better, but it's still out of control. The poppies this year are HUGE compared to last year, so at least I know what to do with them now!
Natalie
I did not know you could cut the stems off while the pods are still green. I did not think they would ripen. I have been waiting until the pods are dry and brittle. By then, the goldfinch have eaten the seed and what they did not eat, has fallen on the ground. Then, in spring, I have so many poppies, I can't seem to get them thinned out enough. My poppies are dead, now. I am pulling up the plants now as they look awful. So, it's too late for me to control the poppies this year, but next year, I will be able to do a much better job.
Thanks, ge for the info.
I am surprised to see pictures of poppies and lilies together. My lilies are blooming now. My poppies bloom in the spring.
My poppies and lilies will bloom about the same time. or rather, the poppies, not alpine, but the other big guys, are just now starting, so they will be going strong clear up til the lilies start, and some time after.