Anyone growing poppies in the Rockies?

As I recall there were a whole bunch of you a year ago. You got me all fired up a year ago, so I planted some perennial oriental poppies. The first one bloomed today. Anybody else have any ? Annual or perennial. Here is Princess Louisa.

Paj a direct seeded a slew of different kinds in late March/ early April. It will be interesting to see what comes up and which champion in the survival of the fittest cuz BOY are they crowded !!!

I wish I had planted some annual poppies, too, but I was gallivanting around the country in March and April. A new bright red oriental poppy joined Princess Louise overnight.

paj those look great together! The bright red really makes the salmon colour show well! I sowed 'Frosted Salmon' and 'Flemish Antique' opium poppys which I hope will POP with 'Beauty of Livermore' oriental that went in. I also sowed in California poppy for a different flower shape but they may get crowded out by the bigger guys? I'm gonna soooooooo miss the annual 'Ladybird's this year but they don't direct sow well for me. Next year for sure!! My fav red with frothy foliage.

I am hoping to get some annual poppies in next year. But at least I got a few orientals in last year that are blooming for me this year. I love big red poppies! Actually, I like all the other colors as well.

I have some annual flanders poppies that are just starting to bloom. The iceland poppies have reseeded, and are also blooming now. My first oriental poppy may be blooming this week. Planted lots of small oriental poppies last yr., but not all of them are mature enough to bloom yet for me.

I don't have as many as I would like, but hope to do more next year. They are so beautiful. I like the Flanders poppies very much along with all the other poppies.

The flanders poppies look better this year, maybe because they were started earlier. I noticed small sprouts back in early april.

Now that I know more about them, I will put them in with the irises next year for a truly Monet effect.

Sounds gorgeous! I think I might have to try the same. When do you sow the seed? Planting poppy seed isn't on my spring radar. But I would like it to be. But the perennials works. Still, I want some annuals.

I actually sowed it last summer, as the seeds from that spring matured. So about 9 months ago.

Fall or early spring sowing works for me paj. The big challenge is to keep the seed from blowing away in the wind. I mix the seed with sand so its easier to spread and sow in damp soil using the foot plant method (ie sow and press seed in with your foot). I know its probably seed abuse but otherwise poof it blows away as soon as the soil is dry and it does better surface sown for me rather than buried.

Sounds to me like your seeds would really appreciate the foot plant method - since it allows them to grow. I think I will try it myself in the fall. In the spring I can never decide when the right time is.

Nice poppies, Paja! I don't do well with poppies. They just won't cooperate! Here is a picture of some growing in the garden at La Casa Sena downtown. That was taken on May 30th, so they are probably mostly gone now.

Those look like rubifragrums. I had a bunch of them, they are a perennial poppy, but mine all seem to have died in the tough winter we had.

My shirley poppies in the big rectangle I redid look like they will do well. My triangle and big round are not in good shape so that is a roll of the dice this year. I shall have the weeds mostly back under control by fall, I certainly hope!

Do your shirley poppies self sow mulch? No sign of mine showing up again in their spot and I don't want to mess with it if they might come back. thanks.

Roybird,
I plant perennial Oriental poppies from plants, usually at the end of the summer. If I remember to water them and give them a sunny spot they usually do fine. I have also grown California poppies from seed in sunny spots, and they reseed a little bit. But I am ready to try the annual poppies now. I just don't remember in time each spring. Hopefully I will be able to get some seed sprinkled this fall.

I have icelandic poppies and they reseed everywhere. My garden is starting to look like a poppy meadow. I've tried two times to grow those beautiful blue himalayan poppies and have had no luck.

upforachallenge I have blue himalayan that I got as a seedling last year that is back. YIPPEE! Very small still. The trick I think is acidic soil. I planted him in straight peat moss as my soil is on the alkaline side. Yes he's a boy. I've named him 'Bobby Blue'.

Oh wow!!! I have failed miserably with blue himalayans, but the soil here is certainly alkaline. Straight peat moss, huh? I may have to try that.

My shirley poppies usually self sow prolifically, because I keep them mulched but not too heavily. Unfortunately my mulch got way too thin when I spent the year writing the book, so the weeds got totally out of control. Did not get them back under control last year because my feet hurt too much to garden a lot.

So my best bed of shirleys is in the big rectangle I totally dug up by hand, added amendments, and reseeded. The other gardens are in varying states of disarray. At the rate I am going I am hoping to have them back in hand by next spring.

But if you maintain your grass clipping mulch so it is not too thick and refrain from adding green grass clippings after July, shirley poppies reseed enthusiastically. Green grass clippings inhibit seed germination so they need to have decayed sufficiently to allow the seeds to sprout, which is why I only add them early in the summer.

Should I be seeing the shirley babies now mulch? All my other poppies are up.

Yes, they come up quicker than any of the others.

I think I found a new rubifragrum this morning, so maybe they are not all lost after all.

I have horrible results with iceland poppies, no idea why. They die off being biennial but are not so good at reseeding the way my gardens are. Maybe they do not like the mulch for germination.

I read somewhere that the blue himalayans like a semi-shaded moist spot. I planted them in a corner where we get a lot of snow insulation and it is one of the last areas to melt off. Maybe this was one of my mistakes???

I've tried mulching but it never stays. It always blows away. Maybe that is why I have the icelandic all over the place. Maybe you are on to something. I got my seedlings a few years ago from a garage sale in Bozeman. They were teeny, one set of leaves. I plucked them in the ground and now i have thousands. Do you want some?

Upfor. it sounds like you had a good spot for what they like. I read they do need good drainage though. 'Moist with good drainage' is hard to do for me. I mulched Bobby in poop and compost so just his little bod was sticking out in the fall cuz we don't get much snow that stays with the chinooks. I made a little dip around him too because of the drainage issue. I have him facing west right now which is supposed to be a no no but he is shaded by a dahlia in the summer. I may move him to get morning sun if he makes it through another winter.

Upfor, I would love some Icelands! I have started some from seed but everything has grown so slowly in the hoop house I am not convinced they are going to do anything useful.

I think you are slightly windier than we are. Took me years to figure out fresh green grass clippings pack down and stay put in the wind. And I had an enormous supply of them available at the time, it was wonderful.

Mulch,
I have a friend who drives back and forth from Ennis almost everyday. Maybe we can set something up for you to get some poppies. I'll try you through dmail when i get closer to digging them up. probably in the next week. You could also let me know if you will be in bozeman anytime soon.

I absolutely adore iceland poppies but have not been able to grow them. I think I plant them too late but haven't gotten around to earlier planting. They are often sold in the nurseries around here -- also too late, I think.

Upfor,
I do have to go to Bozeman sometime next week, not sure when. Maybe we can coordinate, sounds good to me!

I am still trying to get all my tomatoes in the ground in the hoophouse but life is going like a freight train right now. Better go do something to reduce my vast to do list so I can resume planting...

mulch, good luck. My to do list is never ending. LOL My neighbor just gave me some California poppie seeds. Never did them before, so will see. Can i just drop them on the ground in late fall?
GJ, that sounds cool, with the Monet effect. The yellow iris you gave me has just about finished blooming. I put it in the middle of 5 dark purple/lavender iris'. Maybe throw some poppie seeds behind them.

The yellow iris bloomed?

Amazing, considering it was a division and all. That iris will increase very rapidly too.

Good to know. I was going to take a pic, but have some major projects going on and kept forgetting. Is there an end in sight for the hardscape? It's a dim glow, but getting brighter!!!

Oh, I really don't want to finish landscaping. Then what would I do? That's why I have a home plus vacant lot and a 120 acre farm, which nature is landscaping for me right now. I don't expect to run out of landscaping anytime soon.

If I could do 'nature' landscaping, I would be ecstatic right now. I'm tired of moving grass(as in sod that I have grown, but need a new bed), rocks and small boulders, pavers, relocating sprinklers. My back and legs are worn out and my hands and knees hurt. I have calouses on calouses, and then some. Oy vay!

when you are done you may come here and help us move 12 tons of manure + compost, plant a 700 foot border, and weed. Then weed some more.

Greenjay, are you expecting takers on that, uh, highly generous offer?

LMAO and yes then vadap you can come here and rip out my driveway for my new dahlia/rose garden. ok I luv this forum. Everyone is soooooooooo ready to help LOL.

I actually know a thing and two about concrete! I would take a vacation to come up that way, but am about to go to school for a month and a new job. I've already been of 2 weeks now, so maybe not a good idea. LOL

Oh greenjay, I didn't say anything about finishing movement of manure/compost, planting (just had a co-op and a Bluestone order come in, haven't finished putting in all the DBG plants, only half of cannas and dahlias and a lot of seedlings that I started are still waiting), and weeding never ends. I try and pet/play with my cat while weeding around the yard.

ok I'm in to help green jay with the poop. Want to bond with the RM dalhia nuts too so its a great plan. Can you imagine the poor border guys now? "Yupper border dude just going down to help a friend spread some poop" ^_^

And another DBG swap plant update: TrishaG, the tanager gazania you gave me, one is still fighting to hang in there, the other two are doing good, and just noticed today that one has a new flower(different from the one that was flowering).

dn, just so long as you didn't bring any back, they would probably be cool with it.

You betcha vadap. The only problem I've ever had was with the fruit police at the CA border when I happened to picnic in Oregon and had an apple with me when I entered CA oops. Other than that really sllllooooooooooow at the Peace Arch except at night. Montana crossings are quick still though although it's a little weird now with the passport thing. O well understandable.