While you can easily sow California poppy seeds straight into the ground where you want them to flourish, a great way of starting seedlings off well is to germinate them in seed pots or trays. Growing in such a way allows you to nurture seedlings into large, strong and healthy individuals. While you may take great care to look after seedlings outside they are still subject to the elements, a sharp frost, or a sudden attack of slugs which could reduce your California poppies to not much more than a few green stems. There are many benefits for growing California poppy seeds in trays to begin with, and as long as you follow a few tips you’ll have a great abundance of flowers to fill your garden with later in the year.
Sow Lightly
As with most sowing, trying to spread seeds as evenly as possible when planting. It is often best to use trays rather than pots as you can distribute seed more evenly giving germinating seeds room to grow. bayer pesticides You don’t want seeds clustered in one spot because they’ll all be trying to use the same soil nutrients. So by sowing evenly you can ensure that every California poppy seed gets its best start in life.
Cover Seeds
While you can simply scatter California seeds on the surface of the soil and wait for them to germinate, it is often a good idea to cover them over with about 1/8 inch of soil. When growing in trays young seedlings can often grow very quickly, becoming quite leggy before even the first leaves develop. bayer products This will increase the amount of staking that you’ll need when finally planting them out. By sowing them just below the surface you can help thicken stems and ensure that young plants grow as upright as possible instead of flopping over and having long, spindly, easily broken, main roots.
Prick Out
A vital part of growing poppy seeds in trays is the pricking out process. This is where you remove small seedlings and ones with defects, leaving behind just the strong and healthy plants. syngenta seeds It may seem awful to pull out so many young new plants, and if you don’t want to lose them you can attempt to pot them on in other containers. If you wish to do this, use a small pencil or something similar to poke below the root system and gently lift the plant while holding a leaf. You can then plant these in a new tray or pot.
Rid Mold
One problem that can occur when growing in trays if you have moisture to high is that mold will grow. It is vital you remove this as quickly as possible as it will spread from plant to plant, disintegrating leaves and killing young seedlings before they’ve really got going. If you want gorgeous California poppies then planting poppy seeds in trays will ensure that you have some really healthy plants to put into your garden. And by a combination of sowing inside and out, you can ensure colorful displays throughout the season.
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