Himalayan Blue Poppy 2

Meconopsis betonicifolia

This is one blooming in a nearby garden in 1999.

Peter.

Oh my Peter, it is so beautiful, I love to get some seeds, never saw these. Thank for posted it.

This message was edited Sunday, Apr 28th 9:48 AM

I first saw a pic of these last year. If you ever get seeds, or plants....please share! :-)

I have a grandis in one of my beds, and they are surely beautiful. I've tried starting them indoors from seed, but they seldom survive until I can transplant. Next fall, I plan to direct sow them and see how that works.

Hello Weezingreens,

Perhaps sowing indoors is the problem; they dislike temps above 60F. Of course I don't know what temp you had them in, but a suggestion anyway.

My experience with grandis has been to germinate as soon as ripe and at 55F or a little above. I see no reason why the same cannot apply in Feb and March provided the seeds have been stored well over winter.

I overwinter them in a cold frame and plant out when they have produced a tuft of above six leaves.
These plants like to be kept as dry as possible in UK winters.

Peter.

they are just so pretty

OK!WHO has ripe seeds?????

this place have them... http://www.gardenmakers.com/meconopsis_betonicifolia.htm , not i. am buying some.

Peter63: What kind of winters do you have there? I'm in a zone 3 that sometimes behaves as a zone 5.. we have cool soils and lots of rain. Winter temps seldom get down to 0 degrees F, and usually hover in the teens at the coldest. I'm just wondering how these seeds would fare if I planted them in a nursery bed in the fall. I have some seeds that are three years old, and they are still viable.

Hello Weezingreens,

Winter temps in my area usually fall to a minimum of minus 4-6C and then not for many day at a time. So I suppose you could say we get short,sharp spells of frost. On the other hand our weather is so variable it may be that we go through a winter with only a couple of spells of frost in Jan or February. Summer high temperatures likewise come in short spells. We look forwards to a few weeks in July and August of temps in the 21-24C region but it can increase to 27 for just short spells of a few days at a time. It can also drop dramatically to 16-18C and give us a very poor summer. The order is most certainly unpredictability.

Regarding the Meconopsis; there worst enemy is cold,damp still air for long periods. This will eventually rot the crowns.

Your temperatures should be alright for mature plants but I would give the first year seedlings some winter protection from the hardest of your frosts, and definitely from prolonged damp conditions. Look to - dry, moving air conditions and a freely draining soil charged with organic matter such as well rotted manure, garden compost or leaf-mould. Give a dappled shade position.

I suggest that you sow your seed in containers in a cold frame or cold glasshouse. If outdoors give a little overhead protection to the seed bed.

Peter.

Hey - will post a photo if mine blooms this year - there was a huge Meconopsis near us, it had a long flower stalk and lots of blue flowers. :]

How do we know if we buy some seeds if they are FRESH seeds,I am RRREEEAAALLLLYYY sick of spending money on seeds that don't germinate.

Thanks, Peter63. I will take your advice. I'll plant some seeds outdoor in a container, minding the drainage, etc. Dappled sun is not an issue, since most plants that require partial shade are fine in full sun up here.

Hello crestedchik,

I'm afraid you don't. All you can do is buy from a reputable seed firm, local supplier or one who you have had satisfactory dealing with before.

Peter.

I bought meconopsis from swallowtail and got about 60% germination by just planting them in seed starter and covering the pot with glad wrap until germination occurred. Stratification might improve the G-rate but DW doesn't allow DIRT in her fridge!

Where is swallow tail?Is there an address?

A British seed company called Unwins sells at a couple of good local nurseries, that is where I bought my meconopsis seed; almost all germinated at written directions; none survived more than a couple days after being transplanted outside in early April (seed sown in Feb in cool indoor propagator).

Mine were from Suttons (a Canadan company), no germination, I followed the directions verbatum. I got some in trade and it germinated, then died.

According to Mark, the seeds should be fresh. I've had successful germination indoors from the previous fall's seed, but poor survival in the flat, then in the outdoors. Seed collection is not difficult.

I think the secret may be to sow the seed outdoors in the fall and let the seed stratify, scarify, whatever in it's habitat. If one's climate does not allow for stratification, perhaps the poppy isn't suited to the area, or a plant should be purchased instead of seed.

Seed is available from several catalogs. Thompson and Morgan has several varieties available, and they can be ordered online.