Have noticed some poppies growing on a building site and am thinking about taking some seed from them so need a bit of advice, have been told the best thing to do is remove the flower containing the seed put in a bag and give a good shake thus removing all the seed into the bag.......is this correct and if so when should i think about removing the flower and doing it.....cheers

"rabc" wrote in message
...

Have noticed some poppies growing on a building site and am thinking
about taking some seed from them so need a bit of advice, have been
told the best thing to do is remove the flower containing the seed put
in a bag and give a good shake thus removing all the seed into the
bag.......is this correct and if so when should i think about removing
the flower and doing it.....cheers



The seed must be ripe. There will be nothing left of the flower petals. If
you gently shake the seed POD you should hear the seeds rattling about
inside. Then you can put it into your paper bag to avoid losing any seeds.
R.

On Jul 29, 9:41*pm, rabc wrote:
Have noticed some poppies growing *on *a building site and am thinking
about taking some seed from them so need a bit of advice, have been
told the best thing to do is remove the flower containing the seed put
in a bag and give a good shake thus removing all the seed into the
bag.......is this correct and if so when should i think about removing
the flower and doing it.....cheers

Do be careful, this may be a government enterprise agricultural
project set up for Afghistani immigrants. You had better check with Mr
Meddlesome before you "take" anything.

On 2009-07-30 09:05:06 +0100, "Ragnar" said:


"rabc" wrote in message
...

Have noticed some poppies growing on a building site and am thinking
about taking some seed from them so need a bit of advice, have been
told the best thing to do is remove the flower containing the seed put
in a bag and give a good shake thus removing all the seed into the
bag.......is this correct and if so when should i think about removing
the flower and doing it.....cheers



The seed must be ripe. There will be nothing left of the flower petals. If
you gently shake the seed POD you should hear the seeds rattling about
inside. Then you can put it into your paper bag to avoid losing any seeds.
R.

But they may not come 'true', depending on what they are. We had some
very flamboyant poppies which seeded everywhere and came out as pale
mauve single flowers.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon

On 30 July, 09:19, Sacha wrote:
On 2009-07-30 09:05:06 +0100, "Ragnar" said:





"rabc" wrote in message
...

Have noticed some poppies growing *on *a building site and am thinking
about taking some seed from them so need a bit of advice, have been
told the best thing to do is remove the flower containing the seed put
in a bag and give a good shake thus removing all the seed into the
bag.......is this correct and if so when should i think about removing
the flower and doing it.....cheers

The seed must be ripe. There will be nothing left of the flower petals. If
you gently shake the seed POD you should hear the seeds rattling about
inside. Then you can put it into your paper bag to avoid losing any seeds.
R.

But they may not come 'true', depending on what they are. *We had some
very flamboyant poppies which seeded everywhere and came out as pale
mauve single flowers.
--
Sachawww.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon

If the seed heads look a really dry grey colour, and there is a tiny
gap between the sides and top of the seed head, they should be ready.
If you are careful, you should be able to remove the flattish top of
the head and tip the remaining part upside down into your bag. There
will be hundreds in each head, so you should not need too many.

I find that the range of sizes and shapes of wild poppy flowers are
wonderful, but they will not seed themselves very easily if your
ground is anything but dry and sunny.

sutartsorric writes
On 30 July, 09:19, Sacha wrote:
On 2009-07-30 09:05:06 +0100, "Ragnar" said:





"rabc" wrote in message
...

Have noticed some poppies growing *on *a building site and am thinking
about taking some seed from them so need a bit of advice, have been
told the best thing to do is remove the flower containing the seed put
in a bag and give a good shake thus removing all the seed into the
bag.......is this correct and if so when should i think about removing
the flower and doing it.....cheers

The seed must be ripe. There will be nothing left of the flower petals. If
you gently shake the seed POD you should hear the seeds rattling about
inside. Then you can put it into your paper bag to avoid losing any seeds.
R.

But they may not come 'true', depending on what they are. *We had some
very flamboyant poppies which seeded everywhere and came out as pale
mauve single flowers.
--
Sachawww.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon

If the seed heads look a really dry grey colour, and there is a tiny
gap between the sides and top of the seed head, they should be ready.
If you are careful, you should be able to remove the flattish top of
the head and tip the remaining part upside down into your bag. There
will be hundreds in each head, so you should not need too many.

I find that the range of sizes and shapes of wild poppy flowers are
wonderful, but they will not seed themselves very easily if your
ground is anything but dry and sunny.

Germination is triggered by light, so don['t cover them with soil. And
they need bare soil.
--
Kay

Cheers for the advice, with this terrible summer we are having what month can i expect the petals to be gone and the seed pods ripe....Cheers

rabc writes
Cheers for the advice, with this terrible summer we are having
what
month can i expect the petals to be gone and the seed
pods
ripe....Cheers


They usually flower over a long period with each flower lasting only a
day. So seed pods equally ripen over a period. I wouldn't leave it very
long before looking for ripe pods.
--
Kay

On Jul 30, 11:45*pm, rabc wrote:

Cheers for the advice, with this terrible summer we are having what
month can i expect the petals to be gone and the seed pods
ripe....Cheers

About half past December!

On 2009-07-30 23:45:55 +0100, rabc said:
snip

Cheers for the advice, with this terrible summer we are having what
month can i expect the petals to be gone and the seed pods
ripe....Cheers

Depends where you are. Here, they're ripe and empty in many instances!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon

"rabc" wrote in message
...


Cheers for the advice, with this terrible summer we are having what
month can i expect the petals to be gone and the seed pods
ripe....Cheers


When poppy seed is ripe a row of tiny holes around the rim of the pod open
up. When the wind blows the plant waves about and the seed sprays out of
these holes like a salt shaker. Look at the pods daily until the holes open
up and then the seed is ripe for collection. Details vary depending on
species.

HTH
R.

On 31 July, 11:06, "Ragnar" wrote:
"rabc" wrote in message

...



Cheers for the advice, with this terrible summer we are having what
month can i expect the petals to be gone and the seed pods
ripe....Cheers

When poppy seed is ripe a row of tiny holes around the rim of the pod open
up. When the wind blows the plant waves about and the seed sprays out of
these holes like a salt shaker. *Look at the pods daily until the holes open
up and then the seed is ripe for collection. Details vary depending on
species.

HTH
R.

The seed pods tend to start a green-ish colour and gradually turn grey
as everything dries out. If you get them too early you will find that
the seeds inside will be all sticky and are not like to drop out of
the seed head when you invert it.

Many should be ready now, as most wild poppies would flower in late
June/early July.

Just be brave and try a few - like with most things experience will
soon tell you which are the ripest ones.

Ok got the seeds now how do i get them to grow.....rake them into the soil now or wait till later in the year.........cheers

Seed must be mature. There will be nothing left of the petals. If You gently shake the seed pods, you should hear the seeds rattling Inside.