How to Grow Poppy (Papaver)

Video Transcript

"Hi, this is Yolanda Vanveen, and in this segment, we're going to learn all about how to grow poppies or papaver. And they're a gorgeous sun flower that blooms every summer, and it can be started by seed in the spring. They'll bloom all summer, and then drop seeds for the next year. So they're very easy to grow, and they're very hearty from zones three to ten, even. So even if you live in a cold climate, you can grow it, or in a warm climate. And there's so many different types of poppies, too. One of the most popular poppies is the California poppy, and it is native to California and it likes hot summers that are really dry. And that's what I found with most poppies -- they do really well with watering, but you want to let them really dry out in between because you don't want them to ever sit right in water. So as we said, there's many different types of poppies. There's alpine poppies that stay really short that really like mountainous regions. And there's the oriental poppy from China and other parts of Asia that has really huge pink or purple or bright red flowers, and then when they are done blooming, they make a big seed pod, and that's what opium comes from. So there's many kinds of poppies, but what they all have in common is that you start them by seed in the spring and then you let them bloom all summer long, and you can also take by divisions -- by the roots. You can also dig them up in the fall and separate them, and then replant them in the fall, winter, or spring, and then they'll bloom again the next year. So they're, really, a gorgeous plant in your garden."