Sowing Poppies in the Snow

No doubt, we're in the middle of winter here in New England. We're getting hit with snow storm after snow storm. Our surroundings are frosty white and beautiful. I'm enjoying it, and so are our children. They can't wait to get home from school to build caves, sled down the hill, and harvest new icicles.

I was reading a gardening magazine the other day when I learned something else that is fun that you can do in winter. You can sow seeds. On the snow.

Poppy seeds

I know it sounds crazy, at least I thought so, but as I read on and googled a little bit about it, I think it all makes sense.

• Poppy seeds thrive in the cold and moist spring weather.
• Poppy seeds need cold weather to germinate.
• The seeds don't need to be covered with dirt, uncovered seeds sprout best.
• Poppies are happiest if they can grow where planted.

And if you think about it, every spring you find plants in your garden that have self seeded. Many plants seem to reproduce just fine, without any pampering what so ever from us.

So here is what I will do. I will take the seeds that I have purchased, go outside (I might wait a month) and scatter them on the snow where I want them to grow, and... Done!

This kind of sowing is gonna suit me just fine. I have little patience for the lilliputian care that seedlings require, and further, I don't have much space in my house to engage in indoor seed starting.

Here are the poppies that I decided to go for.

Shirley Double Mix (Papaver Rhoeas)

Watermelon Heaven (Amapola Californiana)

Brilliant Red (Amapola Oriental)

Venus (Amapola Venus).

I guess the California Poppy actually belongs to a different botanical family than the rest of the poppies, but I decided to try it with the same method just for fun. At $2 an envelope I have little to loose and much to win if it works. To be honest, if even one flower shows up, it will make my day. Poppies are one of the few flowers (especially red ones) that make my heart beat a little extra fast.

If you want to read a little bit more on this topic, I found a blogger, Mr Brown Thumb in Chicago, that have successfully tried this.