Come coltivare il papavero rosso

In brief:

First you have to wait for the flower to wither, then collect the seeds, which are very small, and sow them in the autumn.

It would be better to bury the seeds in pots and wait until spring to place them in moist soil with full sun exposure.

If you really want to plant them in the ground immediately, place them in a bed of peat.
The soil must be well drained.

Step by step:

The right location. Red poppies prefer full sun and well-drained soil. They can tolerate poor soil conditions and are often found in disturbed soil along roadsides or in fields.

Soil. Loosen the soil with a tiller to a depth of about 12-15 inches. Mix in a 2-4 inch layer of compost or mature manure. Poppies prefer slightly acidic to neutral pH levels (6.0-7.0).

Sowing. Red poppy seeds are very small and should be sown directly on the soil surface. They need light to germinate, so do not cover them with soil. You can mix the seeds with a little sand before sowing to help them spread more evenly.

Watering. After sowing, water the area gently but thoroughly. Keep the soil evenly moist until the seeds germinate, which usually takes 10-20 days.

Spacing. Once the seedlings are about 5 cm high, thin them out so that they are about 6-10 cm apart. Poppies do not like crowding.

Care. Water poppies regularly, but avoid over-watering. Once rooted, they are relatively drought-tolerant. They generally do not require fertilisation.

Removing dead flowers. Remove dull flowers to encourage more flowering. However, if you want the plants to self-seed for the following year, leave some flowers on the plant to form seed pods.

Collecting seeds. At the end of the season, seeds can be collected from the dried pods for planting the following year.