To answer a few of your questions:
It is generally a bad idea to transplant poppies. It is advised to sow them in situ. It can be done in pots but you'll need a large or at least very deep pot. But in general there is no need for wither transplanting or pots, so why bother if you have a patch of dirt.
Lighting should be full on. I dont know about the sun in your area but I dont think your common poppies will get a sunburn there.
As for soil: Poor soil does it. No need to try doing anything to enhance it, that will only benefit the poppies competition. The soil can be rocky, sandy clay deprived of nutrients and dry, and still the poppy will make it.
The easiest method would be to sow them by the lot, provided you have the amount of seeds (like really why do some sellers hand out '10 poppy seeds'. Thats a fraction of a pod and who is the poor devil thats gotta do the counting ? Anyways, provided you have plenty of seeds: Disturb the soil, dig it up, rake it, anything. Then apply seeds generously and disturb it again, mixing the seed in, under and on top of the soil. Basically get poppy seed everywhere. That way, you'll get poppies ... after the next cold ... the year after that ... and the next year too ... and basically at any later year, especially after you disturb the soil again. No need to sow again.
If you have been given '10 specks of breadseed'. Well bugger. I see how the above method does not inspire confidence when you only got a few precious seeds. In that case they can be started in pots, jiffy pots, spent toilet paper rolls filled with dirt ... anything. Jiffy pots and paper rolls because you have less risk when relocating. When grown in confinement, always assume the root to be longer than the green part of the plant is tall ad provide sufficient space. Before that space is taken up move the poppy to its final place or expect a smaller than usual plant.
The thing with relocating poppies: Once the root is out of the soil chances are much worse. Also the plant doesn't need considerable size before relocating. All you want is a way to ensure your plant will grow where you put it, and not where the next rainfall takes your seed.
The thing with germinating poppies: Poppies are found in very diverse climates and they adapt very well and quick, the somniferum is no exception. It basically depends on where your seed (bot strain) comes from. After only a few generations the population will show first signs of adapting to the climate and displaying corresponding patterns of dormancy. The same strain grown on a dutch, austrian and afghan farm will exhibit didferent degrees of dormancy in seed. But: No freezing has yet killed poppy seed. So, if unsure, sow before the coldest period of the year comes or simulate winter in the freezer (yup, in a bag with dirty and moisture). Some will need that, some will sprout whenever they come into contact with water, but none get hurt by the cold. Also seedlings take freezing well.
I hope that gives you a general direction ?
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Topic: papaver somniferum questions (Read 7773 times)