text: How to Germinate Oriental Poppies | Home Guides | SF Gate
  How to Germinate Oriental Poppies
  How to Sow Borage
  The Oriental poppy (Papaver orientale) adds texture and color to the spring and fall yard with its hair-covered, fernlike foliage and large, brightly colored blooms. Poppy growing dates back approximately 7,000 years to the Mesopotamian region and the plants have a long history of use as food and medicine. Oriental poppies grow in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 9. This variety of poppy grows up to 3 feet high and blooms in hues of orange, pink, red and white in early spring. Growing Oriental poppies requires little special care once the plants establish, but Oriental poppies fail to thrive when transplanted because root disturbance can stunt growth and delay blooming.
  Prepare the planting bed in the late fall by removing weeds, grass and other growth. Spread a 2- to 3-inch layer of aged compost into the bed. Dig or till the compost into the soil to a depth of about 1 foot to loosen the dirt, add nutrients and improve drainage. Choose a location to grow Oriental poppies that receives at least six hours of sunlight. Midday to afternoon shade keeps the planting bed cool enough for poppies to perform well. Avoid any area where water sits, especially in winter, and doesn't drain after it rains.
  Mix the Oriental poppy seeds with sand. Broadcast the sand and seeds over the planting site. The sand helps separate the seeds and gives a more even broadcast.
  Gently rake the seeds into the top layer of soil or loosely cover with a fine layer of soil. Water the seed bed. Oriental poppy seeds need light, cool temperatures and water to germinate. The seeds will germinate the following spring in about 14 days of consistent soil temperatures around 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
  Pictorial Guide to Perennials; M. Jane Coleman Helmer, Ph. D., Karla S. Decker Hodge B.S.
  National Garden Bureau: 2003, Year of the Poppy
  Sunset Plant Finder: Papaver Orientale
  Plants for a Future: Papaver Orientale
  University of California Master Gardener Program: Flowers
  In USDA zones lower than zone 7, it may be better to sow the seeds in the early spring.
  Poppy foliage tends to die back in the heat of the summer. Inter-planting with other perennials, wildflowers or annuals will cover the bare spot the plants leave in the summer.
  Thin the seedlings to approximately 10 to 15 inches apart in the spring when they reach 1 or 2 inches tall.
  If you choose to start poppy seeds indoors, choose pots you can plant, such as those made from peat or newspaper, so the roots aren't disturbed during planting.
  In mild winters the flower stems don't develop to the usual height and the blooms open low to the ground, sometimes among the foliage.