Oriental Poppy in Zone 3

[carbuff]

Please bear with me folks, this is my 1st year in a new(er) house with a 1/2 acre lot. There are a lot of perennials already established, but much room for more. So, I bought two oriental poppies, planted them 6 feet apart in a south-facing well-drained bed. They were in 6-inch pots, and were about 6 inches in height when bought. They've now doubled in size, but only one has developed a flower bud, which unfortunately drooped & rotted before blooming. It was the size of a large red grape. I should mention that we've had an extraodinary amount of rain lately. However, on dry days, the leaves looked wilted, so I was watering on a daily basis. So, is it too much water? Do they need to establish for a year or so before blooming? Any suggestions? TIA

[Pat Kiewicz]

One year after planting, my poppy had one flower that matured and a couple of buds that didn't. Two years, maybe a dozen. Three years, several dozen.

Be patient.

One thing I'm pretty certain of is that Oriental poppies appreciate excellent drainage. My grandma had them in a sort of rock garden on a slope. Mine are planted in very sandy soil.

[Andrew Ostrander]

I don't think you need to be concerned, or to water them either. They will likely come back next year bigger than this year.

It is almost time for them to die down for the summer. Don't panic when this happens. New leaves will form late autumn, and more will grow under the snow and be revealed when it melts.

Andrew (in Winnipeg, also Zone 3)

[Jan Flora]

Quit watering them. Let them dry out, then water them.

Poppies do fine in Zone 3. Quit worrying. They'll bloom, then reseed themselves if you don't cut the seed-heads off. They like full sun, but I've got a black poppy growing in morning sun, next to my door (next to my pot of salad greens) and it's blooming it's little heart out.

If you like poppies, go buy some seeds. Later this summer (pretty soon) scratch the soil with your leaf rake and scatter the seeds. They'll sprout next spring and bloom next summer.

My first killing frost is normally on Sept. 17, so I'm starting to sow perennial seeds for next year. (And I'm planting more broccoli, peas, beans, kale, lettuce, and other quickie crops and stuff that likes frost.)

Jan, in Alaska USDA Zone 3