Sacramento Digs Gardening logo
Sacramento Digs Gardening Article
Your resource for Sacramento-area gardening news, tips and events

Articles Recipe Index Keyword Index Calendar Twitter Facebook Instagram About Us Contact Us

Want poppies? Plant now!

Fall is the perfect time to sow wildflower seeds

Bee on orange poppy blossom
Poppies do best when planted from seed in fall. They're low-water plants that regrow from their long
taproot. And bees love them. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)


Each spring, many Sacramento gardens -- as well as nearby hillsides -- are dotted with golden California poppies, our state's official flower. But don't wait until March to think about planting poppies.

When's the best time to plant California poppies and other native annuals? Early fall, just as nature would do.

California poppies, as do many other natives, benefit from planting in September and October while the ground is still warm. Winter rains (hopefully) give them any moisture they need until spring. And then they burst forth in their colorful show.

Related to carrots, poppies have very long taproots and don't transplant well. So, scatter their seed where you want to see flowers.

Scratch their fine seed into the surface; it only needs to be covered by about 1/16th inch of soil. The seed sprouts about three weeks after the first rain. Then, the young plants have plenty of time to develop their deep roots. Planted now, these poppies will be ready to bloom in late February or March.

Poppies have built-in drought tolerance and need only minimal irrigation, if any. They're also not choosy about soil, as long as it has good drainage.

Once established, poppies come back year after year. They're actually a perennial, re-sprouting from that same taproot that allows them to get by with little water. But they also reseed freely.




Comments

0 comments have been posted.

Newsletter Subscription

Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.

Local News

Ad for California Local

Taste Spring! E-cookbook

Strawberries

Find our spring recipes here!

Thanks to Our Sponsor!

Cleveland sage ad for Be Water Smart

Garden Checklist for week of June 15

Make the most of this “average” weather; your garden is growing fast! (So are the weeds!)

* Warm weather brings rapid growth in the vegetable garden, with tomatoes and squash enjoying the heat. Deep-water, then feed with a balanced fertilizer. Bone meal can spur the bloom cycle and help set fruit.

* Generally, tomatoes need deep watering two to three times a week, but don’t let them dry out completely. That can encourage blossom-end rot.

* From seed, plant corn, melons, pumpkins, radishes, squash and sunflowers.

* Plant basil to go with your tomatoes.

* Transplant summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds and zinnias. It’s also a good time to transplant perennial flowers including astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia, salvia and verbena.

* Pull weeds before they go to seed.

* Let the grass grow longer. Set the mower blades high to reduce stress on your lawn during summer heat. To cut down on evaporation, water your lawn deeply during the wee hours of the morning, between 2 and 8 a.m.

* Tie up vines and stake tall plants such as gladiolus and lilies. That gives their heavy flowers some support.

* Dig and divide crowded bulbs after the tops have died down.

* Feed summer flowers with a slow-release fertilizer.

* Mulch, mulch, mulch! This “blanket” keeps moisture in the soil longer and helps your plants cope during hot weather. It also helps smother weeds.

* Thin grapes on the vine for bigger, better clusters later this summer.

* Cut back fruit-bearing canes on berries.

* Feed camellias, azaleas and other acid-loving plants. Mulch to conserve moisture and reduce heat stress.

* Cut back Shasta daisies after flowering to encourage a second bloom in the fall.

* Trim off dead flowers from rose bushes to keep them blooming through the summer. Roses also benefit from deep watering and feeding now. A top dressing of aged compost will keep them happy. It feeds as well as keeps roots moist.

* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushier plants with many more flowers in September.

Taste Summer! E-cookbook

square-tomatoes-plate.jpg

Find our summer recipes here!

Taste Fall! E-cookbook

Muffins and pumpkin

Find our fall recipes here!

Taste Winter! E-cookbook

Lemon coconut pancakes

Find our winter recipes here!