JimD is right. I never have any luck getting Oriental Poppies started.
I do have luck with the annual breadseed poppies Somniferum. I sow these in December and tamp them into scratched soil. Then I lay some screen over them weighted down with rocks .This keeps the birds off and washouts in heavy rains.
Sowing annual poppies
In November when there is a good day.
Scrape away any leaves or mulch to make a bare spot.Dig in and loosen the soil a bit where your clump of poppies will be ( I dont do rows because the annual poppy doesnt transplant successfully for me.)
SOWING ANNUAL POPPIES
There were images with this but I cant paste them.
Tamp the loosened soil area so the surface is level,dont pack the soil down,germinated poppies need somewhere for the roots to go and like a loose soil.
Seeds sown on mulch or anything but the bare ground ,wont germinate.
Sprinkle the seeds and press into the ground.Dont bury seeds
I have sown them and covered with screen held down with rocks.This protects the seeds from birds or washing away with rain.
I also made cloches “bottle greenhouses”
Cut the bottoms off of plastic milk bottles or clear large soda bottles and place the bottle over the sown seeds.I put 2 plant supports into the mini bottle green house so it wouldnt blow away.
These are the new poppies. DONT WEED THEM OUT.I have done that more times than I want to admit.
Also poppies dont need to be sown this thick. This picture was taken in March but we had a weird spring.
In April check your sites for germination. Dont be discouraged if you dont see anything,I have seen poppies emerge in late May.
If seeds are sown early like November ,and they germinate,leave them they will survive the winter.
In spring when the milk bottle plants are a few inches high,remove the bottle or screen covering so the plants can stretch and grow.
I thin by cutting out plants with scissors , that I dont want.I dont pull plants as this disturbes the tender hairlike roots of plants left in the clump.
I had a great clump of mixed somnifareums.
These are planted with Echinacia Summer Sky
