Every summer we grow various annual poppies. Some of the seeds are bought, but mostly they are collected in the garden the previous summer. As the plants hybridize on their own, the flowers we end up with can be quite different from year to year. Some can be absent one year and reappear the next. This was the case this year for Papaver somniferum var. paeoniiflorum which came up everywhere while we had few of them last year.
Sometimes, a few of these poppies come true to seed (that is, they are identical to the mother plant). This is what happens with one of the P. somniferum we grew last year. There was only one flower looking like the ones below, and I made sure to keep the seeds to plant them this year. They all came up identical to the parent plant.
When I want to save seeds for a particular variety, I put a marker on the stem to be able to recognize it, when it has finished blooming, and the seeds are ripe.
We always grow some Shirley poppies, the variety selected from wild P. rhoas by the famous gardener, Williams Wilks, one of these l9th century Church of England priests passionate about gardening. He won the Victoria Medal of Honour from the Royal Horticultural Society. Shirley poppies can be single or double, are usually frilly and come in a great variety of colours. Here is a sampling of this year's colours.
The Shirley poppy seeds we used this year were from Renee's Garden. Their seeds always give good results, but we get Shirley poppy seeds from other places from time to time to add diversity.
We tried something new this year, we grew (also from Renee's Garden) culinary poppy seeds, that is varieties of Papaver somniferum you grow primarily for the seeds (to use in baking) rather than for the flowers. However, as I expected, they also produced interesting flowers. They were all single flowered, quite tall and with a good variety of colours. I like very much the following whose seeds I made sure to save. The two photos look different, but it is only a trick of light.The colour on the right is closer to the true one.
Mostly, these culinary poppies turned out to be reddish. All are very attractive. Isn't this pastel coloured one attractive?
Since they are grown for seed production, these culinary poppies produced very large pods. The stems are also very tall.
Sometimes, a few of these poppies come true to seed (that is, they are identical to the mother plant). This is what happens with one of the P. somniferum we grew last year. There was only one flower looking like the ones below, and I made sure to keep the seeds to plant them this year. They all came up identical to the parent plant.
When I want to save seeds for a particular variety, I put a marker on the stem to be able to recognize it, when it has finished blooming, and the seeds are ripe.
We tried something new this year, we grew (also from Renee's Garden) culinary poppy seeds, that is varieties of Papaver somniferum you grow primarily for the seeds (to use in baking) rather than for the flowers. However, as I expected, they also produced interesting flowers. They were all single flowered, quite tall and with a good variety of colours. I like very much the following whose seeds I made sure to save. The two photos look different, but it is only a trick of light.The colour on the right is closer to the true one.
Since they are grown for seed production, these culinary poppies produced very large pods. The stems are also very tall.
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| More culinary poppies |
Fabulous! I've never had much interest in Poppies (not sure why--lack of sun?). I like them, I just haven't grown them myself. But you've convinced me they are worthy annual plants that I need to try sometime. What a wonderful variety of beautiful cultivars in your collection!
ReplyDeleteThey are not for the neat gardener as they are difficult to control. They come up in all sort of places. However they are extremely easy to pull out.
DeleteI'm fond of poppies and cannot miss them in the garden. You have some wonderful ones, it's always a surprise when you sow them from own collected seeds.
ReplyDeleteIt is never the same from year to year. Just after I had pubished this post what is probably the nicest poppy this year opened. It is a very large scarlet semi-double with a yellow centre.
DeleteHi, Alain! Nice photos, especially the last collage. I love your collection of poppies, the white ones are pretty!
ReplyDeleteThese culinary poppies (last collage) are indeed nice. The dried pods will also be very useful for dry arrangements as they are quite big (over a metre high and the size of Damson plumbs).
DeleteLovely pictures Alain. I find once they have self seeded you have them for ever more. Perhaps this does not apply to some of your wide range of varieties.
ReplyDeleteThey are a definite pest, coming up all over the place. But, as I say above, they are so easy to pull out and it is a continual surprise. Even if most are the result of self seeding, you need to buy new seeds every year to insure genetic diversity otherwise the somniiferum all becomes simple and lavender and the rhoas red.
DeleteVery envious Alain, I just haven't the conditions to grow these.
ReplyDeleteWith the years, you realize what grows well and what won't grow in your garden. It is always difficult to concentrate on what we can grow easily as these plants appear to us as almost weeds. An interesting aspect of reading gardening blogs is that it helps you appreciate what you can grow - whether it be rare or common (in my case cypripedium or poppies and dianthus).
DeleteQuite a nice variety, and great colours!
ReplyDeleteThank you Stu.
ReplyDeleteWe have the same poppies self seeding everywhere.
ReplyDeleteAlain I am totally in love with your Shirley poppies !
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of them .. I adore the beautiful soft pastel colours they have .. if ever you have any extra seeds you don't know what to do with ? LOL
Gorgeous poppy post !
Joy : )
Beautiful photos of some beautiful poppies. I love the breadseed poppies the best, probably because I've never had much luck growing them. I've tried many different ways and all end with failure so I'm resigning myself to just enjoy them in the gardens of others!
ReplyDeleteHello Alain, we really struggle to grow poppies here, I think the garden is just too wet and the new borders have soil that is far too fertile. At the bottom of the garden, underneath the trees where the soil really is dreadful might be a better place for them, bit it will be some time before I reach that part of the garden.
ReplyDelete