Germination of supermarket poppy seeds.

[Guest warts]

Hi,

I've been wondering if it's possible to germinate the poppy seeds that are sold in supermarkets, or are they somehow treated to prevent this type of mis-use? If they do grow, can anyone tell me what colour flowers I could expect?

I planted some recently to see what would happen, was I wasting my time? Just for the record, I'm not interested in using them for anything other than having an uncommon flower in my garden.

[Ed Dunkel]

If you are talking about the culinary poppy seeds, haven't they been heat treated to remove residual 'alkoloids' and kill any potential live seeds?

E D

[Pablo]

Yup, they'll germinate, at least mine did, and they've got a fair germination rate, just chuck em around the yard, you get enough for 30 cents that you dont need to bother being carefull, just keep em moist I guess, mine all germinated after it rained. They have very beutifull purple flowers, and they're cool cause the flower pod is rather small, and you just wake up one morning and you've got a large delicate flowers growing outside your window (at least at my house anyway ). They are realy only for ornnamentals though cause the sap doesn't contain much good stuff, if you have enough it's kind of like low grade weed buzz for a few minutes (not that I would smoke poppy sap, cause that's illegal and I'm a law abiding citizen ).

I say go for it grow em everywhere, they're beautifull, but I think you've left it too late, mine flowered about a month ago and are now dead, sow in autumn or winter.

-later

[Pablo]

Hey Ed, you got in just before me, a few seconds I think, your post wasn't there when I started typing, and I was looking forward to being the first to reply .

[bark]

Heard many years ago that you could get them to germinate at other times by giving them a period of coldness (fridge for a few weeks?)before planting (or chucking ). never tried it myself but the seeds are cheap and plentiful so it might be worth a try.

anyone tried/heard this?

-b

[rkundalini]

Just throw 'em on some dirt and keep 'em moist, they will grow if they haven't been sterlised. Might be getting a bit late but why not give it a go?

I sowed some Hoyts brand this year and they are currently blooming. Incredibly beautiful red flowers with a dark purple blotch at the bottom of each petal. I think they are probably Papaver rhoeas (aka field poppy, flanders poppy, ya know the ones for Remembrance Day) and so no good. We shall see (if any criminals happen to break into my garden and attempt a bioassay).

According to an article I read on the Tasmanian poppy industry, their seeds (P. somniferum) are also sold for food but they are sterilised.

What brand were the purple ones?

[Pablo]

Can remember what brand the purple poppies were, they're the ones in the 40 or 50 cent packets that you get in woolworths.

[Guest warts]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'll try some more brands of seeds and see what the results are.

I've now found another potential source of seeds, I was driving the other day and noticed what looked very like a somniferum in someones front garden just around the corner from my house. I then decided to look some more and found another even closer to home, both are not yet in flower. Then today, a little further away on the corner of a busy intersection in full view of everyone there's about 20 plants, 1 metre high with pink + red flowers, in the garden of a doctors consulting rooms no less. How long after the flowers will viable seeds be set? I might have to erm, "acquire" some...

[billy]

i've collected some from really old homestead type gardens that are like open for visitors etc. the seeds just sit in the pods by the millions (exageration) waiting for someone to collect them.

i hope what happened to me once doesn't happen to you.

last year i was driving up my back lane and noticed this --beuatiful-- poppy growing alone on one of my neighbours' back naturestrip (unkept, long grass etc). i kept an eye on it for a while waiting for it to mature and one day thought 'tomorrow i'll have that'.

next day driving up the lane-----

neighbour mowed his lawn.

[Guest Pigdog]

Originally posted by warts:

I've now found another potential source of seeds, I was driving the other day and noticed what looked very like a somniferum in someones front garden just around the corner from my house.

Could be Somniferums   Be easier to just order some from Torsten though, that way you will know  

Then today, a little further away on the corner of a busy intersection in full view of everyone there's about 20 plants, 1 metre high with pink + red flowers, in the garden of a doctors consulting rooms no less.  

You'll most likely find these are certainly not P.Somniferums. Being illegal to cultivate, I doubt strongly that a doctor would wanan get found to have them in his garden. Could be, sounds a little too good to be true..

How long after the flowers will viable seeds be set?  I might have to erm, "acquire" some...

yer as in above message. the pods just seem to stay closed for a while at least. Sortta go dry and leathery so I assume they just drop their seeds once the jeathery case gets degraded enuough to split open. and yer, whole fuckn pod is jam packed with seeds  

--Pigdog

[DreamingNagual]

In reply to warts

A Tassie Tiger once told me to wait about

seven or eight days after the petals drop

then dry the pods for about 14days open ..and voila just dry the seeds a little longer and store in a film canister...also he added that you could scrape the pods before you pick to make things more interesting,Hmmmm that darn tiger,He has about 60-70 goin at the mo......