Can I grow poppies here and when should I start them?
Zone 9a question
Swampguy, you can grow oriental poppies in Louisiana as an annual. You have to seed them in the fall. Seed them where you want them to grow and thin them when they come up. They do not transplant well.
You can grow then in small three inch square containers and try transplanting them when their roots are well developed. If you can slip the plant out of the pot and transplant then without disturbing the roots, they have a good chance of taking. They do not like to have their roots disturbed once they germinate.
Have you ever been to the Rural Life Museum on Essen Lane. Their poppies should be bloming now. I haven't made it there yet this year, but they usually have a pretty good display of many colors and varieties. If you go towards OLOL Hospital when you get off the interstate, it is on your right just as you get off the interstate.
You mean the cold weather won't hurt them?
And Rural Life will have its plant sell on May 12 if you are interested. Thanks, Tim
This message was edited Apr 16, 2007 7:42 AM
No. They won't break ground until the weather warms, but I think they start developing a root system. I am not sure, but I do know you have to seed them in late fall.