A poppy is a term used to refer to any colorful flower that belongs to several genera including Meconopsis, Papaver, and Romneya. The usual colors of poppies are blue, red, orange, yellow, pink, and white.
The flowers have various uses such as food flavoring. These are used in different dishes associated with Turkish, German, Bengali, and Slovak cuisine.
The flowers are commonly used as a symbol of death or sleep because these produce opium, which is helpful for putting a person to sleep.
If you want to learn how to grow poppies in your backyard, it is best to start by learning the location where the flowers grow best.
Materials Needed
Before you start planting poppies, it is beneficial to get all the materials that you will need for the project.
Some of the things that you will need when cultivating the flowers are builders’ sand, potting soil, a planting tray, a spray bottle, and two-inch pots.
Above all, it is important to visit local nurseries or gardening stores and look for packets of poppy seedlings.
Procedures
Where do poppies grow? The flowers grow best when planted in soil that is exposed to full sunlight.
If you plan to grow the flowers indoors, remember to install fluorescent lights in the room where the flowers will be grown.
It is important that poppies be exposed to light for eight to 10 hours a day.
The initial step for growing poppies is to mix the sand with the potting mix. Sprinkle seeds over the mixture.
Water the plants three times a day until leaves start to sprout. Use scissors to pinch leaves. To maintain humidity, water the plant once a day with the use of a spray bottle.
If you want to transplant poppies, mix a part of builder sand with three parts of potting mix. Fill large pots with the mixture.
Remove poppies from the planting tray carefully. Transplant poppies in the pots. Water the plants daily with the use of watering cans.
Expose the transplanted poppies to sunlight for at least an hour a day. Place the plants in a shaded area to avoid leaves from burning and withering. Remove pests, weeds, and molds surrounding the plants.
Additional Tips and Information
Let some of the flowers dry out during summer to repopulate poppies.
You can apply organic fertilizer and organic compost in the soil before planting and transplanting the flowers.
It is also best to learn the proper way of harvesting poppy seeds because you can add these to pastries.
