Poppy seedling -question.

Hi again everyone, I started some poppies in the greenhouse earlier this month, hoping to get some early flowers next year. I planted victoria louise, oase & papaver venus since then however, I have read that they do no like their roots being disturbed in any way, I had sown most of them on the surface of compost on trays & they are already starting to fall over :dh:Should I transfer them into deeper compost in better containers to grow on or would moving them kill them? I suppose it's not possible to sow some directly outside at this time of year? If none of these work out I can always wait until after winter & sow in their final growing places. Any advice is welcome.

 

You may gently prick them out into individual pots to grow on. Now that they have been inside I would keep them there until Spring. Have to say that I have never heard of Papaver orientalis disliking root disturbance, some of the other species yes, but not that one.
I would not recommend sowing directly, they do not come true from seed and they are the very devil to get rid off if you get ones which are not worth having. I grew some in a seed bed and it has taken over 5 years to get rid of the last plain red one.
One point, when potting on, always use a pot which is deep enough for the plants roots to go straight down, rather than having to curl them round to fit in the pot.

 

Thanks for the advice, are all of mine 'papaver orientalis? Sorry I'm a complete beginner.

 

Victoria Louise is definitely a Papaver Orientalis (named after the only daughter of the last Kaiser). Not sure about the others.

 

P. Oase and Venus are both forms of the hardy annual Papaver somniferum. The may be transplanted with care.