BLUE POPPIES

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 281, 30 November 1935, Page 14

BLUE POPPIES

MANY FINE MERIITS. Ina botanical sense most of the blue poppies are classed as monocarpic plants. This simply means that though not necessarily biennial, the plants die after flowering. One or two species, including Meconopsis baileyii and M. wallichi, are perennials, but even with these species it is advisable to raise a fresh stock annually from seeds, for it is only in very favoured gardens that they prove permanent. Seeds will germinate freely if fresh and are sown with only a very light covering of sphagunm moss finely chopped, and kept quite cool and shaded. The tiny seedlings should be pricked out just as soon as they are large . enough to handle. In most cases it is ! advisable to keep the seedlings in boxes I during the first winter and plant out j in early spring. This means that the. plants will not bloom until the follow-j ing summer, but much finer results will be obtained by giving the crowns a ! chance to build up strong growth be- j fore flowering. They will more than compensate for the long wait. Frost is not likely to trouble any of the species of meconopsis, but damp is always a source of trouble. Lack of surface drainage is responsible tor considerable mortality every season. Many soils are liable to cake during the winter, with the result that moisture lies on the surface. This is a condition that the meconopsis will never tolerate, as they are extremely susceptible to collar rot. To obviate the danger, many growers have adopted the plan of topdressing the beds with a mixture of rough leafmould and coarse sand, which is laid down to a depth of two inches.