My grandmother's poppies!

[WaterWitchin]

Yes, they need to stratify. Also, they need sunlight to germinate, so don't cover. Just press into soil.

Pretty sure digitalis is still used for CHF and arrhythmia.

[estación seca]

Yes to digitalis still being used for heart failure and irregular heart beat. You can probably find and read English doctor William Withering's 1785 treatise on the use of foxglove to treat dropsy (fluid retention caused by heart failure or liver disease.)

It is rare to see digitalis used any longer, because the toxic level is so close to the therapeutic level, and less toxic alternative drugs are available. Toxicity leads to seeing yellow halos around lights, among other symptoms. Vincent van Gogh, who painted the famous Starry Night, was treated with digitalis for his epilepsy and depression. He painted a portrait of his doctor with a stalk of foxglove.

Oleander (Nerium oleander) is toxic because it contains chemicals with the same action as digitalis. This class of compounds is called "cardiac glycosides" for those wanting to read more.

[WaterWitchin]

Good reminder to folks about Starry Nights. I found out about this when a teenager. I have a cousin whose doctorate and life study is painting. He comes up with so many interesting stories behind the paintings...he's a fascinating guy to listen to.

[estación seca]

I would plant poppy seeds at the end of summer, so they come up as soon as they are ready. You'll get flowers faster that way. I scatter my winter wildflower seed in early October in hope of early rain.

[JScott]

I did some research on them, and it seems that those poppies lie in a legal gray area, as somebody else mentioned. It is legal to buy, sell, and possess the seeds. It is technically illegal to grow them, but this is never enforced unless you have planted a huge field of them that you are obviously going to use to extract the opium. Nobody cares about a few gardeners with small poppy patches.

It is illegal to possess "poppy straw" which is any part of the plant that has been cut away, so if you pull your spent poppy plants out of the garden after they are finished for the year, you are technically in possession of poppy straw, which is technically legal, however again this doesn't seem like something they enforce except in certain circumstances.

I think this probably applies to people who keep the pods to make poppy tea. I looked it up, and yes I was right, one can make a very potent tea from dried poppy pods that has produces a strong opium/morphine like feeling. I imagine that is what they have in mind when they talk about poppy straw. If you throw out your spend poppy plants when their season is over, and you keep the pods just long enough to get the seeds for next year's planting and then throw them away, I'm sure you are fine.

The long and short of it is that I don't think anybody cares as long as you aren't actively trying to do anything illegal.

---------- Post added at 12:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:02 PM ----------

Originally Posted by estación seca

I would plant poppy seeds at the end of summer, so they come up as soon as they are ready. You'll get flowers faster that way. I scatter my winter wildflower seed in early October in hope of early rain.

ES, I bet you are right. The bed is ready, so I'll plant the seeds this weekend.

[WaterWitchin]

Interesting, depending on where one lives and flower seeding. There are some I fall plant... well, not really, they just reseed themselves for the most part. A few, I always plant in early spring for a better germination rate. Mostly ones that need sunlight to germinate, whether they need stratification or not, and mostly ones with very small seeds. I've done poppies that way successfully (storing in fridge until February or March then planting), but either way works.

I always plant Jewel of Opar in spring. I've many times tried planting it where I want in fall, and it never grows. Early spring, sew where I want and get good results. It also reseeds itself okay, but never where I actually want it. A fickle plant. Rubeckia is another that I have better luck holding over until spring to get a start established somewhere else. For some reason, in my environment, zinnia and marigolds also do better with a spring planting.

[JScott]

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

Interesting, depending on where one lives and flower seeding. There are some I fall plant... well, not really, they just reseed themselves for the most part. A few, I always plant in early spring for a better germination rate. Mostly ones that need sunlight to germinate, whether they need stratification or not, and mostly ones with very small seeds. I've done poppies that way successfully (storing in fridge until February or March then planting), but either way works.

I always plant Jewel of Opar in spring. I've many times tried planting it where I want in fall, and it never grows. Early spring, sew where I want and get good results. It also reseeds itself okay, but never where I actually want it. A fickle plant. Rubeckia is another that I have better luck holding over until spring to get a start established somewhere else. For some reason, in my environment, zinnia and marigolds also do better with a spring planting.

Grandma said that she never planted the poppies. She always just let them reseed themselves, so it seems like planting them in late summer when they would naturally drop their mature seeds would make sense. It seems like they start to germinate in about February, and then they grown slow until the weather warms up.

But of course different things work in different climates. In Texas our autumn is long, winter comes around late and is short, and then spring comes pretty early, so planting the seeds in late summer here seems to make sense. That might not work for you in Kansas because your climate is so different.

[JScott]

Originally Posted by estación seca

I learned about harvesting opium, and chasing the dragon, when I was a kid. It was clearly explained, with numerous beautiful photos, in National Geographic magazine. I've never tried opium, by the way.

The magazine didn't provide any information on how to grow opium, so the article was incomplete.

I myself have tried opium, and it was quite pleasant, but I didn't grow it myself. It is very labor intensive, and the consequences for getting caught are just too dire. I was young then and didn't stop to think about what might go wrong, but as an adult, I have better benefit/risk assessment skills, and simple possession of a controlled substance like opium is one thing, but manufacturing a controlled substance is a huge freaking deal. I'm older and wiser enough now to know that it just isn't worth the risk. Yes, I'm going to grow the poppies, but no, I have no interest in manufacturing opium.That would be a foolish thing to do for sure, and I'm old enough now to know better haha.

[Dollythehun]

Now Is the Time to Plant Wildflowers in Texas. Here’s How to Do It Right. – Texas Monthly

[JScott]

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

Now Is the Time to Plant Wildflowers in Texas. Here’s How to Do It Right. – Texas Monthly

Well then it looks like I'm doing it right. I sowed the poppy seeds today. I also planted my garlic today. The onions will go in later this week, or on the weekend, just as soon as I have time.