# Poppy Frenzy



## Schnee (Apr 3, 2014)

They seem to go after the poppies so aggressively, that the flowers seldom last more than one morning. I always throw a couple of handfuls of seeds in the garden first thing in the spring, much to the dismay of my wife,....and then a couple more handfuls after she goes back in the house.


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## ruthiesbees (Aug 27, 2013)

that's beautiful. I've planted poppies this year just for the bees, but haven't been home to watch them go after the pollen.


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## spieker (Jun 26, 2009)

Very impressed. Do you know what type of poppies you have? I tried raising poppies one year and the bees barely touched them. I would like to raise what you have.


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## Schnee (Apr 3, 2014)

spieker said:


> Very impressed. Do you know what type of poppies you have? I tried raising poppies one year and the bees barely touched them. I would like to raise what you have.


Papaver Somniferum or more commonly known as the Opium Poppy, these are the _Red Shaggy_ variety. I also have orange _Oriental Poppies_, however they seem to give them less attention. It may be due to the fact that the Oriental poppies bloom a month earlier than the red shaggies

The Red Shaggy I just throw out the seeds in the early spring, the oriental act more like a perennial and either need to be grown from a piece of the root or sewn indoors in compost (spread them lightly on top of the compost) keep them moist warm and cover them with a sheet of newspaper, transplant them in the fall while soil is still warm or in spring after threat of heavy frost is gone.


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## spieker (Jun 26, 2009)

Thank you Schnee for your reply.


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