Fothergill's Poppy American Legion Seeds

Details:

• Botanical Name: Papaver rhoeas, a classic, fast-maturing hardy annual field poppy.
• Dramatic High-Contrast Blooms: Features large, bowl-shaped flowers of an intense, brilliant scarlet-red, instantly set apart by their startling, clean white centres and dark, radiating anthers.
• Effortless Border Filler: Reaches a perfectly balanced height of 60cm (2ft) on slender, airy stems, blending beautifully into cottage garden schemes, wildflower meadows, and mixed borders.
• High-Impact Drift Sowing: Ideal for broadcast sowing in large patches or naturalized drifts, creating a breathtaking, undulating sea of crimson throughout the summer months.
• Flexible Sowing Windows: Can be sown in the spring for a mid-summer display, or sown in the autumn where cloche protection over winter helps the young seedlings establish for an extra-early, robust spring flush.
• Traditional Wildlife Magnet: The open, accessible single blooms act as a brilliant resource for native pollinators, drawing in honeybees and bumblebees with their abundant pollen.

Care Instructions:

• Sow seeds directly outdoors where they are to flower, either in spring or early autumn. Prepare the ground by raking soil to a fine tilth, scatter the seeds thinly on the surface, and press down lightly (do not bury them deeply, as poppy seeds require light to germinate).
• Keep the seedbed moist until germination occurs. Thin the young seedlings out to roughly 15–20cm apart to allow the plants plenty of light and structural room to branch out.
• For an autumn sowing in colder or exposed regions, provide a clear cloche or horticultural fleece over the winter to protect the young foliage from harsh frosts, ensuring an explosive display early the following summer.