Califorian Golden Poppy

[cheops]

Hi everyone,
A friend has lots of very impressive groups of the above poppy and kindly allowed me to pull up a large bunch. No spade was available. Most of the root came out bit did break so some was left behind. I planted the bunch in my garden but slowly the flowers faded as did the foliage. I'm hoping it will recover and new growth will start. Is it reasonable to think that? And will it help if I cut all the old growth [now dead]out o ground level? Thanks.

[scarey55]

If it is anything like mine I don't think that it will grow again if you chop it back but you should have some seeds if you had flowers. The seed pods look like "spikes", if you Google it, you will see what I mean. I have a load here if you want any, PM me your address and I'll send some over to you.

[cheops]

thanks a lot Scarey for your very kind offer but there are some seed pods which i will collect some seeds if necessary. Do these poppy seeds germinate easily? It would be nice if the very large plant recovered and put on some new growth - so I will leave it a while and give it every chance and will not cut it down to the ground. It is a truly eye- catching plant with its numerous blooms of golden deep yellow.

[muddled]

You can sow the seeds now for californian poppies next year....absolutely beautiful aren't they?

[scarey55]

thanks a lot Scarey for your very kind offer but there are some seed pods which i will collect some seeds if necessary. Do these poppy seeds germinate easily? It would be nice if the very large plant recovered and put on some new growth - so I will leave it a while and give it every chance and will not cut it down to the ground. It is a truly eye- catching plant with its numerous blooms of golden deep yellow.

They are really pretty aren't they. They are very easy to grow from seed but if you do collect the seeds, they have a habit of popping open once they are ready. The first time I saved seeds I just left them on the side and couldn't understand why I had tiny poppy seeds all over the worktop! Now I put them in a paper bag which I keep closed until all the pods have popped.

Muddled is absolutely right, you can sow the seeds now ready for next year. They self seed and grow everywhere so you should just be able to sprinkle them over the ground and they'll come up without much help.

[WPG]

Like others have said, they self-seed really easily - in my experience they don't seem to like being sown in modules and planted out, so if you collect seed it's better sown direct into the ground. As you've found, it's hard to transplant them too as they rely on a tap root.

I just love them, they're so vivid.

[Two_Sheds]

I planted the bunch in my garden

They're annuals not perennials, so they will die if you dig them up

Buy some seed, they're really cheap and commonly stocked

Or wait until your friend has seed available

[Shadylane]

I thought they were annuals but mine have come back for the past few years. The same ones not self seeded. I asked the neighbours and they seemed to think they were perennials.

ETA: "The California poppy is technically a perennial but is often grown as an annual, owing to its ability to go from seed to flower in a matter of weeks. A single plant can flower profusely over a long period before eventually setting seed and producing new flowering plants in the same season."
How to grow: California poppy - Telegraph