Resilient Roots

Like several things that people say are easy to grow, I have had more bad luck than good with poppies. Carrots are another, and they have in common the tinyness of their seeds, which I suspect is a factor in my frequently only-moderately-well-drained soil. Perhaps. I scatter and scatter, and occasionally I get a tiny fraction of what I seed, and they have failed prove their "prolific self-seeder" reputation for me - yet.

So finally this year I decided to flout the super-dominant advice that poppies "hate to have their roots disturbed" and therefore shouldn't be started indoors. For several years now I have been starting my indoor seeds in soil blocks, which minimize root disruption vs. pots. So I started a dozen or more poppies - a mix of Hungarian Blue Breadseed and Ladybird.

Unfortunately, in the depths of winter, I got over-eager and started them too soon. By April 1st if not earlier they had sort of exhausted their little blocks. In zone 4 they couldn't go out yet, and I didn't have the space to plant them up into larger blocks as I do with tomatoes. So they waited. By May 1 I had many of them sitting outside under cover in trays, despite some very cold nights (I did pull them in once for a freeze). But by then I had also read more about their roots and realized they have a long deep tap root that was probably hopelessly bound by now. I wrote off my experiment, thinking I'd try again next year with a much later indoor start date, but I planted them out anyway to bookmark their spot and because I am almost incapable of tossing seedlings.
1st bloom of the year. Not true to either of the varieties I
planted, but judging from the foliage, may be a Ladybird -
or stray seed that got mixed in. 



Many of them do appear stunted, not much larger than when I planted them a month ago. But several are putting up buds, and the first bloomed today.

I have high hopes for a future filled with cheap, beautiful, indoor-started poppies.


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