Poppy, Turkish Red (Papaver somniferum), packet of 100 seeds, Organic

Family:  Poppy (Papaveraceae)

Generally fall-sown in Zones 7 to 10 and spring-sown in colder zones

(Turkish Red Poppy) Overwintering annual native to Turkey.  Traditional usage (TWM): analgesic. The flower is bright red with a dark basal spot.  The plants are multi-headed, more so than other somniferums I’ve tried.  The flowers tend to last 3 days before giving way to the medium sized, perfectly round pods.  This is a longer floral expression than is typical of other somniferums.  The flowers are dark red, not pink.  This is the poppy that gained fame from “The Wizard of Oz,” beautiful enough to charm a winged monkey, potent enough to put a lion to sleep.  For the wicked witch in all of us, by all means, scatter some seeds. 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.  Plant prefers full sun and highly nitrogenous, fast-draining soil of neutral pH.
100 seeds/pkt., Certified Organically Grown