LOL LOL Magpie and Berrypie (the pies are so sweet!!)

Diane - I just googled zinnias...it says it takes 2 months for them to germinate and bloom. So I think I'll wait until next year. :) If I get lots of seeds though (can't remember how many seeds come in the package)...then I could sow a few...what the heck. :)

The temps right now are around 17C/63F. A bit chilly. Man, we need to send you some cooler weather. Although yesterday was 23C/73F and I found it hot when I went for a short walk. I can't believe you're still at 100F. :( :(

Magpie - thanks for the advice...I'll sow the bluebells and the Nigella next spring in the front raised bed...it gets part shade. :) What a pretty picture!!! So those are bluebells?

There are lots of bluebells, an informal popular name. Sort of like daisies. The Blue Bells of Scotland, also know as a harebell, is a Campanula, and not related to Phacelia that I know of. Will check. Diane

Berry, Carol was asking whether to cover poppy seeds and that was not necessary. They can be scattered during dormant season and they will come up. So easy.

Diane - I think I have harebell...a lavender color.

I wish I could have found some fun poppies. They only had red left. But, I love everything I got. :) Especially the zinnias!! I'm hoping they germinate and grow when I plant them next year. But, if they don't...it wasn't much money anyway. It'll be fun to try.

Carol, you have Campanula rotundifolia, which is bluebells of Scotland or a harebell. There are just too many names for these plants, probably because they grow in so many countries. Is there any place in Canada that will sell the annual poppy seed in early 2022? Now is not the right time to sow this seed, anyway. In your climate, April would probably be a good time for any bread seed poppy to be sown. Here, early March would be good. Earlier in the year or in fall is OK, too. I knew I'd tried to grow a phacelia, but the one I tried was Lacy Phacelia, which is a good cover crop of lacy plants that start out looking like fiddleneck ferns. They have the curved stem neck. Anyway, I sowed seed on our bare slope, hoping the phacelia would help stem soil erosion out there. The quail ate all the seed but one, apparently. The one seed germinated, and the quail ate the tiny seedling the next day. Arrgh. Then a short while later, Cori Ann (remember her?) decided to sow lacy phacelia in her flower beds, and of course, it came up beautifully. She had so much I think she had to tear part of it out. Of course, she had no quail and had rich soil. I was so jealous. The bluebell form of phacelia is related to forget me nots and is not a campanula. How's all this for confusion? I did some research last night to muddy the waters. I hope you are successful with this one. Apparently, bluebell phacelia is easy to grow when direct sown (my kind of seed). Diane

@Diane Brakefield I grow the lacy phacelia each year and it self sows like mad. That could be a pro or con for some people. The positives are that the flowers smell very nice, the color is beautiful and all kinds of bees absolutely love that plant. The cons are that the plant is big, gives you sharp pokes when you try to touch it, looks awful after it's done flowering, and grows fast and densely so it doesn't play nicely with others always. Also the branches tend to snap off. This year I sowed some of the intentionally saved seed I had from that plant... one came up. However, it made a big mess dropping seeds in other areas when I cut them down last year, and so many of those came up and grew wonderfully, so they seem to prefer being sown in fall here.

I am jumping on the poppy wagon with both feet. I read that they need 2 1/2 months in the refrigerator. Is that for all varieties or just the perennials?

@rosecanadian I forgot to mention that Nigella has a very short bloom period. They definitely won't make it to the frost frost, they go to seed quickly and then that's it. So another good reason to mix them with other flowers. The bluebells phacelia, as well, though it blooms longer. If you just sow those two together you might have a big patch of spent plants in your raised bed in mid to late summer.

@Kristine LeGault 8a pnw 2.5 months?! That seems like a lot, I don't know about that.

Kristine, I don't think they need any refrigeration Just put the seed out in late fall or say, February. I never refrigerate mine at all, and they come up like crazy. I am writing about the breadseed poppies, not the perennials.

Magpie, thanks for all the info. I'll never try the lacey phacelia here because it would be just throwing away the seed (quail, many many quail). Also, I have a lot of lavender growing out there, which the quail leave alone. So most of the space is gone now. It sounds like the nigella and bluebell phacelia have too short a bloom period for this garden of very limited space, but I love learning about all these plants. Thanks, Diane

Lauren's Grape is beautiful but it didn't do well here. Very short bloom time and the plants just seemed to melt away. Same with Shirley poppies. I don't understand how people in hotter climates than mine can grow them well as it seemed too hot here in zone 7a. . California poppies do a little better, and I used to have Corn poppies. They came back awhile then quit. An old lady nearby , Toodles Monday, had a big stand of opium poppies in her front yard.

Nigella was new to me this year (a COVID impulse purchase along with the Lauren’s Dark Grape poppy). They did pretty well for me in large pots and I sowed the seed directly into the pots, probably too late in the spring. The tap root goes down deeply. I pulled one up (I didn‘t like the single flowers) and the root was a foot long, just the part that came up. The main bloom was for a couple of weeks, although there are still some flowers now.

The seed pods that are forming now are fun.

Thanks for the help. I think it will be fun to try something new.

Diane - Yes, you identified Bluebells of Scotland (such a pretty name)...but I have something else that I'm thinking of. Anyway, doesn't matter. :) There probably is somewhere else that will sell annual poppy seed...I'll have to keep that in mind. :) Such a cute name...bread seed poppy. :) I hope I remember to check for annual poppy seeds...I didn't know there was such a thing. :)

That's cool about the curved stem neck like a fiddleneck fern. They taste good cooked and with butter. I only tried that once when someone had picked a lot and gave me some. Those QUAIL!!! LOL I can't believe that one sole seed germinated and the quail ate that too! You know what...you could write a children's book about your quail!! It would be darling!!! And Clare could illustrate! Oh, of course, Cori Ann's came up beautifully...she can grow anything (so can you) and she doesn't have quail. Man, she had beautiful roses!! I agree - direct sown...my kind of seed!

Magpie - the story of my life...LOL...run and do something right away and don't research it or think about it. LOL Well, I'll try them. The Nigella and bluebells Phac. will be in a raised bed with salvia and John Davis and a peony, and a climbing rose (Hugonis I think...hasn't bloomed yet...may next spring). The bees love all the salvia there...so it'll be good for the bees to have such a smorgasboard! So the Nigella and bluebellsP. bloom early and then are kaput? That's okay...I would like some early bloomers there. Thanks for the heads up! :)

Kristine - EEEEEeeeee!! So much fun!!

Okay, I was on Swallowtail Gardens (googled bread poppies and this site came up)...and they have such a gorgeous selection!!!! But...they say their seeds are pelletized...does that mean they're harmful to bees? I found this: The most commonly used seed coatings are neonicotinoid insecticides.

I know that's harmful to bees. Does anyone here have an idea about this? Thanks!

Erasmus - opium field in her yard! LOL

Noseometer - hmmmm....so you wouldn't recommend the Nigella?

@rosecanadian No they are not treated with insecticides, they are coated with clay so that they are easier to handle, as poppy seeds are so tiny. Some seed is coated this way because it makes it easier to sow them a bit more intentionally.

Oh I also forgot to add, if you sow some Nigella in, let's say late April, and then some more in mid-May, you'll extend the bloom time. I have some May-sown Nigella still in bloom right now, and the volunteered ones are done. They really just don't like heat, but in your climate you'll probably get a longer bloom time than Noseo. They plants are on wiry stems with very lacey leaves, so they're very easy to tuck in between other plants. Here is a photo so you can see how thin the plants are. These are in a pretty shady spot, the ones in full sun will grow taller.

Carol - I must have given the wrong impression. I thought the Nigella was a lot of fun. They were very easy and satisfying. All I did, literally, was sprinkle the seeds over the mulch in the pots. They did the rest. I just didn’t like the single ones. The double ones I liked more. I’m going to save the seed of the ones I liked best for next year. Even though they don’t transplant well, they do fine in pots if the pots are large enough.

I'd love to try some in pots, Nose, but after this summer of hell, I don't know how long they would bloom even in pots in the shade. I thought after years of beautiful nasturtiums trailing down over a pot's edge, I had that down cold--until this summer when they all burnt up in the shade. How do you keep your potted Nigella alive in your sun? Diane

In my ignorance, I didn‘t do anything with the ones in the sun. Those still have a couple flowers on them today. The one in morning sun/afternoon shade is still blooming. I was surprised that they didn’t even start blooming until the weather got very hot. Perhaps it is because I didn’t plant them until late in the spring. They are still blooming in the pot that gets the most shade, along with the pansies…the only pot where the pansies survived the weeks of 100. But if my focus was season-long color, I’d plant something else. The nigella was just to have a bit of fun, and they were so carefree that it was worth it. Now if they become weeds, that would be a problem. Another option could be to just let the pots dry out and leave the faded nigella there for the rest of the season. The balloon seed pods are attractive. But I have baby roses in those pots.

Thanks, nose, but I'm still a little leery. What are you temps like right now? I can't believe you have pansies blooming. Diane

Nature does the cooling refrigeration of the seeds if put out in Fall or Winter in most climates. Refrigeration not needed. I grew delphiniums from seed from England in Alaska and they recommended refrigerating those seeds until started in flats. None of that is needed for annual poppy seeds. I just got some poppy seeds from Swallowtail and I'm always happy to try them. They are in the bookcase waiting for the cold, wet season right now.

Last November for Black Friday , Botanical Interests had a free shipping sale. I'm really looking forward to it, they carry lots of my favorite flower seeds and their prices are great. I plan to get poppies next time of course.

I wrote on an earlier post how beautifully they presented my first small shipment I bought in Spring. Their company understands it's a momentous occasion to receive the seeds that will become our treasured gardens.

So exciting!!s I bought all of these!! I've never bought seeds before...(except for vegetables). How cool!! The only ones that can't be direct sown are the wishbone ones...but I can grow those in pots. :)

WISHBONE FLOWER SEEDS, KAUAI MIX

30 pelleted seeds

1

$3.49$3.49

WISHBONE FLOWER SEEDS, KAUAI MIX

30 pelleted seeds

1

$3.49$3.49

WISHBONE FLOWER SEEDS, KAUAI BLUE AND WHITE

30 pelleted seeds

1

$3.49$3.49

ZINNIA SEEDS, QUEEN LIME GREEN

20 seeds

1

$3.99$3.99

ZINNIA SEEDS, QUEEN LIME WITH BLOTCH

20 seeds

1

$3.99$3.99

POPPY SEEDS, LILAC POMPOM

½ gram

1

$2.99$2.99

POPPY SEEDS, PINK FIZZ POMPOM

200 seeds

1

$2.99$2.99

BACHELOR'S BUTTON SEEDS, CLASSIC FANTASTIC

200 seeds

1

$2.99$2.99

POPPY SEEDS, HUNGARIAN BLUE

1 gram

Any thoughts on these?

The site said that you can use the seeds from bread poppies for bread...that's why they're called bread poppies...have any of you made bread from them?

Magpie - thanks! So nice to know I don't have to pass on these because of the bees. In fact the bees should love these. :) Thanks for the info on Nigella. I really like the lacy look of the greens. :)

Noseometer - oh, I misunderstood you. That's what I get for reading/responding in the wee hours. :) And I like easy. :) I just found this: If you do not deadhead, be aware that Nigella damascena can be a rampant self-sower, leading to invasive behavior in garden beds.While this plant is perfect for relaxed gardeners or relaxed gardens (such as a cottage or meadow garden), do not plant Nigella damascena if you prefer plants to stay in bounds. People either find love in a mist’s self-seeding nature charming or maddening.

Oh, and I have all of these beautiful boxes that I don't do anything with...I can store my seeds in them! Fun!!

Magpie - thanks! So nice to know I don't have to pass on these because of the bees. In fact the bees should love these. :) Thanks for the info on Nigella. I really like the lacy look of the greens. :)

Noseometer - oh, I misunderstood you. That's what I get for reading/responding in the wee hours. :) And I like easy. :) I just found this: If you do not deadhead, be aware that Nigella damascena can be a rampant self-sower, leading to invasive behavior in garden beds.While this plant is perfect for relaxed gardeners or relaxed gardens (such as a cottage or meadow garden), do not plant Nigella damascena if you prefer plants to stay in bounds. People either find love in a mist’s self-seeding nature charming or maddening.

Oh, and I have all of these beautiful boxes that I don't do anything with...I can store my seeds in them! Fun!!

@rosecanadian Well, you could use the poppy seeds as an additive for bread, or you could make poppy seed muffins, poppy seed bagels, poppy seed cookies, etc. I jave never tried as this is my first year with bread seed poppies, but I plan to if I get enough seed. I'll update later 😜 I grew Hungarian Blue this year. My husband really liked the flowers, but they were very very short lived here and I'm not a fan of the way the plants look now. I really wish they were hidden amongst other plants better so I couldn't see them as much. Oh well. But the color of the flower is really nice.

Bachelor's Buttons are very easy, make a good cut flower, and bees really like them.

Zinnias are great, some areas of my yard they can be self sown, in other areas the bugs eat them before they can grow. Luckily they are extremely easy to start indoors and transplant. Maybe the perfect flower to practice growing seedlings indoors.

I've had Nigella volunteers but they're certainly not as aggressive as plenty other plants I've grown, and they're very easy to pull out in both the seedling stage and mature stage and they don't keep returning from root peices. You can also cook with the seeds of Nigella, too.

Diane, the pansies might still be blooming, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that they look good, haha! Temperatures have been in the mid 90’s since the 100’s of June.

This morning:

One nigella still blooming.

If nigella is a rampant self-sower, it won’t work for me. I’ll remove them before they set seed. So maybe I won’t replant them next year.

They all looks so good, nose. By this time in July, my pansies would have literally been toast or not blooming at all. That's why I don't grow them anymore. I love nigella, but my garden is too crowded for it, I think. We have had a hotter July than you this year, and I done with this, though the weather gods might not be done with me. Diane

Magpie - so interesting! Also, do bread poppies come back every year as the same plant...or does the plant die and the seeds come back as new plants? I guess this may depend on the zone one is in?

Noseometer - I may put my nigella in pots. :) Now I need some pretty pots. LOL I really, really love your Nigella!! Purple pansies are wonderful!

Carol, breadsead poppies are annuals, so they bloom, set seed, and die all in one season. The seed either is sown by you for next year's plants. or drops naturally from the seed case to reseed the plant. So all plants go through this cycle in one year and die. Next year's plants are new plants. You knew that breadseed poppies are opium poppies. People have actually tested positive on drug tests after eating bread with poppy seed sprinkled on it. Or yummy lemon poppy seed cake. Diane

@rosecanadian regardless of your zone, these are annuals. Beautiful, ephemeral, and the seed pods take quite a while to dry naturally in the garden so you've got plenty of time to change your mind and take them out if you don't want them all over. Same with Nigella, actually, the seed pods take their time drying enough to actually burst open and self sow. Don't be scared by the phrase "rampant self sower" because it's really not hard to control them.

Who has a favorite poppy ?

I would like to try a couple different ones.

Carol, if your zinnias start out looking disappointingly single , it's possible it might do what mine is doing, puffing up with more layers as the days go by. The first open flower is going on week two, turning into a globe shape. I'm so glad I decided not to cut it off.

This is what my Oklahoma Z looks like ( not my photo ) .

The tight buds of my bachelor button looked more like little pink bachelorettes but then opened blue , plants are so interesting and surprising.

I do think Lauren's Grape is my favorite annual poppy. Carol where you are you should grow Himalayan Blue Poppies. They were perennial (like Oriental poppies) and grew in Alaska z3 for me. They beat them all.

Sheila, those are the Holy Grail of poppies because they can be so difficult to grow (most of us don't have climates similar to the Himalayas, I guess). And you grew them! Congratulations. My admiration of your gardening skills continues to grow. What a luminous blue those poppies are. such a rarity.

I've grown several kinds of Shirley poppies (annual), and disastrous California poppies. My favorite annual poppy is Lauren's Dark Grape. Diane

Diane - that's what I wanted...some annuals...so I can try again the next year. No, LOL, I actually didn't know that bread poppies are opiates. I assume they're legal...or they wouldn't be sold.

Magpie - excellent! I wanted annuals. Thanks for helping me with this. :) :)

Berrypie - how cool!! I'm glad you told me. :) :)

Sheila !!!! !!!! So beautiful!!! That COLOR!!! I'm not going to order any more...but man, oh, man!!! I should have ordered that!! Maybe next year.

Just saw on the news that this hot weather really created a bumper crop here for Saskatoon berries!! I'm going to see if my hubbie has time this week to take me. The place we go is on the highway...and I can't see well enough to drive on the highway. My twitching pupils need too much time to analyze what's happening. I've got some pie crust already made and in the freezer....saskatoon berry pies!!! My kids are coming home in a week...apple pie, saskatoon berry pie, and raspberry/lemon cake!! Drool. :)

Carol, be sure to top the raspberry/lemon cake with poppy seeds-ha. How interesting about Saskatoon berries. Another thing learned on this forum since I've never heard of this berry. What are they like? A berry pie sounds fantastic. You know that Western Oregon is famous for its berries, and one of the best known is the Marionberry, named for the county it was bred in. It's a modern hybrid. Speaking of hot weather, we are due for another heat dome (we never left it), starting around Sunday with my part of Idaho at the worst of it. I noticed Canada will really be hit, too. Have you checked your forecast? All my roses are gearing up for a big flush just in time for the Dome. Will winter never come? Cancel that..I never said that. What has happened to me? Diane

Ohhhh!!! Saskatoon berries make FABULOUS pies!!! And they're delicious on their own. They're kind of like a blueberry...but they're purple and much sweeter!! I just googled, and these are what they're called in the states. Do these sound familiar?

Saskatoon berries have a variety of names throughout North America, including: prairie berry, serviceberry, shadbush, juneberry and, in past centuries, pigeon berry.

I've never heard of the Marionberry...okay...googled it...sort of like a blackberry. Looks delicious!

GASP!!!! No, you never said that. LOL Said what? :) :)

The next two weeks we're having weather between 75-79F...with mostly around 76. So we're in the sweet spot of temperatures. I really, really wish this heat dome would go away for you and for everyone else. Just horrible.

Thanks, Carol. Maybe you're just to the east of the dome. It sounds like you'll have wonderful temps. I was going to guess huckleberry when you described Saskatoon berries. I've heard of serviceberries, and maybe shadbush, but I don't know what they're like. We have wild huckleberries in Idaho, and I know they're big in Montana. It seems logical that your Saskatoon berry might be like huckleberries, which are so wonderful. Years ago, my uncle would travel to Montana, and while he was there, he'd have these wonderful homemade huckleberry preserves sent to me--five one pound jars. He did this several times. I'll have to tell you how wonderful he was some time. My good friend goes huckleberry hunting a lot with her daughter, who is a "huckleberry hound"-ha, and can find them like nobody else, and she doesn't even like them. I can't imagine not liking huckleberries. Diane

No wonder I like saskatoon berries (they're in the rose family LOL) so much...I googled and:

Saskatoon is of the Rosaceae family: amelanchier alnifolia. Huckleberries are Ericaceae, either gaylussacia or vaccinium. Look at the link...it's quite cute!

http://heartwarmingauthors.blogspot.com/2017/08/7-ways-to-tell-saskatoon-from-blueberry.html

You have an uncle who loves huckleberries...I had an aunt that made the most delicious pies I've ever had...and they were huckleberry. I read that they both can be grown in pots...you won't get as many berries as you would if they were in the ground...but who cares! YUM!!

@Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR a few weeks ago I watched a show that talked about growing Himalayan Poppies and said that they need an environment that is always humid, as they're used to the misty clouds that are always around them in their native habitat. Was it like that where you used to grow them? I doubt that could ever survive here on the dry, dry plains.

My experience with bread seed poppies is that the seeds don’t like to germinate in the spot where the previous year there was a mature plant so they move around as the self seed. A Master Gardener I knew in Seattle said they produce a growth inhibitor in the soil that takes a year/season to break down. So in my experience they would fizzle out and disappear over time in a smaller garden, but if some virgin ground available each Spring they will continue in the new spot. Here is an article related to this effect that they have. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348047667_Allelopathic_Influence_of_Poppy_Papaver_somniferum_L_on_Emergence_and_Initial_Seedling_Growth_of_Red_Rice

Marion Berry's are the bomb! Like a blackberry but longer and sweeter. Berry pie, my favorite..

Stephanie - that's interesting! So, it sounds like when we spread our seeds...it shouldn't be all over the garden...but in a small area and then rotate what we plant there.

Magpie, the blue Himalayan poppies grew well in Alaska. Our rainfall was no different particularly than here at 18 inches/year. I thought it was the cool summers they needed. It was averagely humid outside of Anchorage. I bet southeast Alaska they would have done well too. Summers were 60s and occasionally to 70s.

Carol, huckleberries are not blueberries and look and taste much differently. No one grows huckleberries that I know of domestically. They are totally wild. Blueberries do poorly here because of our alkaline soil, but I do have a friend that grows them in pots. She's also the big huckleberry hunter.

Stephanie, I have Lauren's Grape growing every year in the same spots, plus new ones. So I'm skeptical of the theory of needing a new spot for these poppies each year. They also come up in new spots, too. I don't do any rotating, and I'm not worrying about it. I throw those seeds anywhere I like. There is no fizzling out. Diane

@Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR wow, a summer high of 60-70s sounds incredible. I hate the heat.

Diane - same here...huckleberries only grow wild. They're awesome though. :) Good to know that the seeds don't need rotating. :)

I just ordered Lauren's Grape and this guy.

I got 2 of each to share with my sister.

Ooooh!!! So pretty!! The centers of poppies are so fascinating!!