About Peony Poppy Seeding

Soil

• Use a quality seed-starting potting soil to start the peony poppy seeds. This type of growing medium is generally soilless to help avoid damping off, a fungal disease that kills seeds and seedlings that are in contact with soil. Make your own seed-starting mix by combining 2 parts of peat moss with 1 part each of perlite and vermiculite. Stir it well as you moisten it as peat can be a challenge to wet uniformly.

Planting

• Use small planting pots, peat pots or cell packs filled with the soilless planting mix to plant the seeds. Peony poppy seeds require light to germinate so place them on the surface of the soil and do not cover them. Place the pots in a tray or shallow container and place that on a heat mat set to 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure that the planting mix remains slightly moist at all times. The seeds germinate within two to three weeks.

Care

• Thin the peony poppy plants to 8 inches apart when they develop their third set of leaves. At that time, give the peony poppy an application of 10-10-10 fertilizer at half the rate suggested on the label. Plant into the landscape when it reaches 6 inches in height. Give the poppies lots of sunlight and slightly moist soil.

Considerations

• After blooming, encourage the plant to bloom again by cutting off the faded flowers. Use your hands to follow the stem, stopping at the first set of leaves. Cut the stem 1 inch above that point. Allow the last flowers of the season to remain on the plant and form seed pods if you wish to collect seeds to plant in the fall. Or you can allow the plants to self-seed.