Family:  Poppy (Papaveraceae)

Generally fall-sown in Zones 6 to 9 and spring-sown in colder zones

Cultivar from Persia flowers early and makes large pods.  Traditional usage (TWM): analgesic.  Spread seed on fast-draining soil in fall or very early spring.  For best results, plan the planting of poppies so that they germinate and grow during cool, moist weather and flower and make seed during hot, dry weather.  It takes some years of experimentation to figure out how to do this in the various temperate zones.  Those in southern Oregon strew the seed with the first fall rains and finish seed harvest in June.  Germination times confirmed in 2021:  outdoor planting in late September germinated in 8 days.  Plant prefers full sun and well-rested yet nitrogenous, fast-draining soil of neutral pH.    Make sure to thin seedlings to at least 6 inches apart as soon as reasonable.  They tend to dwarf if crowded.  Do not fertilize.  Plants may appear small or dwarfed at first yet will continue to expand, develop, become multi-stemmed, and enlarge as the season progresses.  Although they prefer sun and a dry site, occasional watering will help produce larger plants.  Watering should be discontinued when drying off pods for seed harvest.  Peshawar poppies finish faster than other “somniferums.”  For example, seed was direct-seeded to the field on 10_12_2024.  The rosettes grew slowly through the winter and went up to flower in May.  By mid-June, the pods were fully formed and ready to be dried back for harvest.  Space plants 1 to 2 feet apart.

Packet contains 300 seeds

1 g contains ~2,000 seeds

Certified Organically Grown