Oriental poppies from seed

I've never grown oriental poppies but fancy having a go. One area of my heavy clay has quite a lot of brick rubble and stones mixed in and thought this might provide the drainage they need, it's a raised area as well...

Does anyone have views and/or experience of growing these from seed versus a plant of named variety please?
Also, any suggestions of strain of seed that's best to try? Or variety of plant?

 

I find them really difficult because the seedlings seem to flop within a matter of hours. I've had no luck as yet with my seeds. I have patty's plum and wedding day which were both bought as plants. I might sow some more this weekend and maybe have pots ready for pricking out.
I'm just sooo busy with work at the moment.

 

My experience:-

1. Open packet
2. Cast with careless abandon over newly dug bed.
3. Rake a bit of soil over the top.
4. Wait
5. Forget
6. Jump for joy when they appear and punch the air shouting

I'm sure that is no help whatsoever but that is how I grew mine

 

Ha ha "M" I was just about to say I'd read about sowing them direct and then saw your post Certainly sounds as if they hate disturbance, so I think I'll give at least some of the seed a go in the open Yes perhaps I'll try some and some - always have been indecisive

 

And sorry, I forgot to add that your post was indeed very helpful

 

Hi Do you mean the perennial or the annual

 

Ah, I thought all Papaver orientale are perennial
Perennial ones

 

sorry I meant these if you have heavy clay easier to grow being annuals
Papaver somniferum

 

Yes, you're right - I just have a yen to grow the big perennial blowsy things. Probably very silly, but I'm going to give them a go

 

I love them. I'll try direct sowing too.

 

I grew these from seed Philomel, and I'm on really heavy clay. I had a few failures first, mind, and thought that these hadn't worked, and then they just appeared! I don't think poppies like root disturbance, so try sowing them in loo rolls, or paper pots and plant out the whole lot. Sorry I can't remember the variety. On the other hand, I've never been able to grow annual poppies, after repeated direct sowings, scattering to the wind a-la-Monty, planting out seedlings etc...etc.... However one appeared last year in our garden, blown in from the field of opium poppies near our house, for which the farmers here receive subsidies as they're grown for medicinal purposes.

 

Oh that's lovely to know, thanks Lorea, I'll persevere then And thanks for the beautiful photos, they'll spur me on

 

The annuals usually self seed and grow back year on year so don't discount those

 

Oh no Eve, I'd like those AS WELL
.... but good idea, thanks for the prompt

 

Most mixes give a high proportion of scarlet flowers to pink, salmon or white, so unless you can grow them on in pots to flowering size, it's hopeless trying to do colour combination planting. I'm certain that the pinks and whites revert to scarlet as well, over time. One tip, philomel, when you have your borders overflowing with them, chop them to ground level as soon as they've finished flowering, feed and water a bit and you'll get two or even three flushes of flowers.