Poppy Farming Tips

If you have plans of growing your own poppies, it is a must that you know some of the most important poppy farming tips.

These tips will be able to help you in ensuring that you will have a successful poppy farming and your garden will be in full bloom of these wonderful flowers in no time.

Poppies are among the most famous flowers in the world of gardening. There are a lot of reasons that can contribute to this said popularity, one of which is the fact that growing them is very easy. There are perennials and annuals in numerous attractive and bright colors. Poppies used to be referred to as “common cornfield weed” but these wonderful flowers are far from being a weed. Originally, poppies can be found in various parts of the globe, such as Europe, China, North America, India as well as other Asian regions and this is also being considered as common wildflower in plenty of areas.

A Glimpse of the Poppies

The poppy plants can grow from 12 to 24 inches. These flowers that can last for a long period of time include just about every single color that you can see in a rainbow. The perennial varieties can take much longer time in order for them to bloom while the annuals can bloom in a matter of 65 to 90 days.

The poppies can look just amazing on their flowerbed, and you can actually try experimenting with mass planting, putting them in the rock gardens and even just using them as border. Poppies can also look perfect in the windowsill planters while you might also want to put them in containers to adorn your deck or patio.

Aside from being in flowerbeds, poppies also have many other uses. There are also birds that feed on poppy seeds and if you have some canary pets, you can feed them with these. Poppy oil and seeds are also being used commonly in kitchens, particularly for making cookie and bread recipes.

Propagation of Poppy Plants

Poppy plants are being grown from seeds. You can sow them directly on your garden or plant them indoors. It is being recommended to have an indoor start, 6 to 8 weeks prior to the previous frost in your place. Starting poppy seeds can be done in separate pots in order to give them sufficient room for better root growth. Based on poppy farming tips, it can also help in lessening transplanting shock.

Growing Poppy Plants

As mentioned earlier, growing poppies is very easy. These flowers opt for full sun up to a partial shade as well as cool weather. The soil should also be slightly dry and well drained. For the average soils, you can combine some compost before you plant. The seedlings must be transplanted into the garden only after frost danger has passed. Also among the essential poppy farming tips is for its final plant spacing, which must be 8 to 18 inches, depending on the variety. In order for you to achieved best results, you can give them general purpose fertilizer for once every month. Make sure that you mulch the surrounding area of the plants for keeping down the weeds as well as achieving an attractive look. Water your poppies only during those long dry periods.

Disease and Insect

It seldom happens that poppies experience problems with disease and insects. You can apply fungicides or insecticides only if the need calls.

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