American Legion Poppy Seeds (Papaver rhoeas) also known as Flanders Field Poppy, Red Corn Poppy, Remembrance Poppies. Organic, Non-GMO Seeds

Found in Dutch gardens and considered a regional variant of the wild corn poppy, the deep red 'American Legion' poppy is a flaming red chalice-shaped flower marked inside the cup with a white cross under an ivory crown. Pair with lacy white Orlaya and spires of annual clary sage for bright summer gardens.

Lifecycle: Annual
Cold Hardy Annual
Mature Size: 18 inches high by 6-12 inches wide

Sowing Instructions
Depth: Surface sow; requires light to germinate
Sprout Time: 5-14 days
Seed To Bloom: 14 weeks
Starting Indoors: Sow in pots 6-8 weeks before last frost, cover lightly with vermiculite or a humidity dome and keep at 65-70°F until germination, then at 50-60°F. Be very gentle when transplanting, as poppies do not like to be disturbed.
Starting Outdoors: Recommended. Direct sow 4 weeks before last spring frost or in late autumn (autumn only in zones 8+) Mix seed with fine sand and scatter thinly over prepared soil to avoid overcrowded seedlings.

Poppies are the obsession of honeybees that unfailingly crowd around the flowers as they are freed from their corset of sepals, to be the first to sample their golden crown of pollen. Add to vegetable plots, meadows, and borders, where their early flowering fills gaps in perennial bloom times with luminous flowers. Self-sows.
These plants prefer evenly moist soil, but can tolerate drought. About an inch of water per week.
Soil pH: lightly acidic to neutral—if soil is acidic, add some lime before planting.

Growing Poppy

Plant poppy seeds in the fall or late spring / early summer after frost. Our seeds are already stratified and are ready to plant. Poppies prefer a temperature range of between 55 and 75 degrees fahrenheit. Poppies can withstand colder temperatures, but do poorly above 80 degrees.

Soak the seeds in water for 24 hours. Allow them to dry a bit for a few minutes in order to avoid water-logging the soil, as poppies do not do well in overly damp soil.

Select a sunny spot with well draining, sandy type soil. Poppies love the full sun but do not do well in temperatures above 80 degrees fahrenheit.

Scatter seeds and very gently rake to distribute. Cover with no more than 1/16" of soil. Poppies need sunlight for germination.

Mist the soil whenever it appears dry. Do not soak the soil. Germination occurs in 7-14 days (up to a month with certain varieties such as the China White strain). Germination efficiency and success is dependent on the conditions listed above.

Water sparingly with a misting bottle (do not pour water onto seedlings). Reduce the frequency of watering once seedlings reach 2-3” high as they do not like damp growing conditions. The most frequent cause of seedling failure is over-watering, which allows a fertile basis for fungal and mildew growth which often leads to seedling failure.

Do not plant in really hot weather. These seeds DO NOT like to germinate in summer-like weather. Poppies are a cold weather plant, and as such the best planting time for planting is fall-thru-late spring (depending on your location).

Poppies do not do well as transplants. If these must be transplanted, it is best to begin them in peat pods so that the entire pod can be carefully transplanted into a spot in which the roots will not be affected during transplanting.  

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