Subject: Re: Blue poppy (meconopsis betonofoialia)

From: Don Martinson <[email-masked]>
Date: 23 Mar 1995 16:37:35 GMT

[email-masked] (Nicholas Lindsay) wrote:
>
> 
> 
> Has anybody in Nova Scotia tried to grow the blue poppy (meconopsis 
> betonofoialia)?  . 
I'm not from Nova Scotia, but it's my understanding that Meconopsis
betonicifolia is rather demanding in its cultural requirements, doing
best in the cool Pacific Northwest area of the US and also in the British
Isles, so as long as your summers aren't too hot, you just might have good 
luck with them.  I'd love to try them, but I'm afraid even here in 
Wisconsin, it might be too warm for them.  Good Luck.
Don Martinson    [email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (Nicholas Lindsay)
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 1995 14:11:25 GMT

Has anybody in Nova Scotia tried to grow the blue poppy (meconopsis 
betonofoialia)?  If so perhaps you could answer a few questions for me.  
Such as: Germination time?  Shade/Sun?  Rich soil? Wet or dry?  Any other 
information would be greatly appreciated as well. 

--

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From: Don Martinson <[email-masked]>
Date: 23 Mar 1995 16:37:35 GMT

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From: [email-masked] (Bob Beer)
Date: 28 Mar 1995 05:10:15 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>, Nicholas Lindsay <[email-masked]>
wrote: > > >Has anybody in Nova Scotia tried to grow the blue poppy
(meconopsis >betonofoialia)?  If so perhaps you could answer a few
questions for me.  >Such as: Germination time?  Shade/Sun?  Rich soil? Wet
or dry?  Any other >information would be greatly appreciated as well.  > >

>-- I'm not in Nova Scotia but I do grow them.  (I live in Seattle, WA,
where we do have cool summers generally and always cool nights.) I don't
know what your summers are like there, but out of all the blue Meconopsis,
M.  betonicifolia is the most likely to succeed where you are.  I have
heard of people on the east coast getting them to flower.  They don't like
hot summers or direct sun.  Some morning light would be okay.  For 
germination, they need light and also cool.  I germinated them out on an 
unheated sunporch where the temperature dipped every night.  Once they 
have their first set of leaves, you want to get them potted into 
individual pots.  Don't wait longer as they don't really like root 
disturbance.  They do best in acid soil with high organic matter 
content.  I mix a peat based potting soil with about 1/3 part composted 
steer manure to start them off.  You can try planting some directly into 
the garden or you can grow them on in pots and put them out the second 
year.  They are completely cold hardy; our difficulty here is our wet 
winters which they resent.  I doubt that will be a problem in Nova 
Scotia!  

Really prepare your soil bed well.  It should be a sheltered fairly shady 
place, that never dries out completely (or make sure it does't by regular 
watering in the summer).  Dig the soil deep, and add lots of peat and 
composted manure; steer and some chicken wouldn't hurt either.  The 
object is to get as much growth on the plants their first year out as 
possible.  

M. betonicifolia can be either a short lived perennial or a monocarpic
plant (blooms once and then dies).  If a plant tries to bloom without
enough bulk/strength, it will not come back the following spring.  There
are also genetic differences in strains; some tend toward being
monocarpic, others are more likely to prove perennial.  If you get a plant
that instead of flowering the second year puts out lots of offshoots, it
is more likely to be perennial.  You can also take some of these side
shoots in spring when they arise and grow them into new plants.  Try and
get a bit of root, but if they have only a tiny bit, they will still take
off pretty quickly as long as the weather is cool and they don't dry out. 

If your summers are cool enough and you have luck with them, you might 
want to try Meconopsis grandis which is a true perennial, or M. x 
sheldonii, a cross between M. betonicifolia and M. grandis.   Both are 
wonderful.  

If you have any other questions feel free to mail me.

bob

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From: ettings <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 29 Mar 95 22:41:12 -0500

I have a meconopsis, but I can't remember the cultivar: it has lovely peach
flowers, and blooms like crazy in northeast -mostly shade.  And it's in northerh
Vt., Zone 3, so would imagine it would grow in your more temperate climate.
 
Best,

Carol

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From: ettings <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 29 Mar 95 22:41:12 -0500

Best,

Carol

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From: [email-masked] (Bob Beer)
Date: 1 Apr 1995 06:44:06 GMT

It is probably Meconopsis cambrica, or Welsh poppy.  This is one of the
toughest.  The most common one is a beautiful clear yellow; there is also
a pale orange one.  This one will reseed abundantly when it is happy. 
Sometimes it is hard to get going from seed (I tried collecting and
scattering seed for many years with no germination).  I then put a couple
young plants in; now I have more M. cambrica than I know what to do 
with.  Well. I do know what to do with it but I get lazy.  :)

bob

In article <[email-masked]>,

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From: [email-masked] (Bob Beer)
Date: 1 Apr 1995 06:44:06 GMT

bob