Poppy is a herbaceous plant belonging to the poppy family. Its distribution is very extensive - poppy is found everywhere in the tropics and temperate climates. Some types of poppy also thrive in colder areas. An unpretentious flower prefers to grow in arid places; most often, poppies are found in the steppes and semi-deserts, they also love dry foothills. Mostly poppy is used as an ornamental plant. In addition, it is used in the food industry for the production of confectionery and margarine. The plant is very unpretentious, so planting poppies and caring for them are not particularly difficult for flower growers.
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Botanical description
The genus Poppy includes about 70 species of various one-, two- and perennial plants with one or more strong stems. In some species, the stem may be absent. A distinctive feature of all poppies is the release of an oily liquid by the stem and fruit box when they are cut.
poppy field
Poppy leaves are pinnate and dissected, often covered with small hairs. The plant has large flowers, mostly one per stem. Most often they are bright red; there are also yellow and white poppies.
poppy bush
In stem varieties, flowers are located on long peduncles, stemless species have rather large pedicels. There are several types of poppies that have not single flowers, but panicle-type inflorescences.
The flower has six large petals, several dozen carpels (pistils are located in them) and many small stamens.. Insects are the main pollinators of poppies, and in very few cases the plant has self-pollinated.
poppy flower
Flowering of perennial poppy species lasts a relatively short time.. Each flower lives an average of 2-3 days, but their number allows flowering to last about two weeks.
poppy boxes
The poppy fruit is an oblong club-shaped box. The pod contains several thousand small seeds, which are dispersed over long distances when the ripe pod bursts. Given the mechanism of seed dispersal and the high unpretentiousness of the plant, almost all poppy species reproduce well by self-sowing.
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All types of poppy are perfectly propagated by seeds. Vegetatively, only perennial types of poppies can be propagated, and then this should be done infrequently, since poppies do not tolerate transplantation and transportation. Therefore, it is recommended to transplant poppies in close proximity to the place of cultivation.
Poppies reproduce well by seed.
The seedling method of growing poppies is practically not used; it is used for indoor cultivation of a plant or its cultivation in a short summer.
Place of cultivation
All types of poppy are light-loving plants and should be grown exclusively in sunny areas. Exceptions are some perennial species, for the cultivation of which the use of penumbra is acceptable.
Poppies love the sun
The poppy is also able to tolerate the wind, but in unprotected areas, strong air movements can cause the petals to fall, which leads to a reduction in the duration of flowering several times. That is why it is desirable to protect the poppy from the cold northern winds. The ideal place for growing a plant is the southern slopes of sites with protection from the winds from the north and east. As protection, you can use both vegetable fences and various buildings or landscape elements.
Ground Requirements
Poppy grows well on any soil, but prefers dry and light soils. It is advisable to plant a poppy in an already cultivated area, where some kind of cereal or annual flower crop with a late flowering time will grow with it.
Vegetation time even for perennial poppies is about three months, after which its leaves wither, and only ripening fruit boxes will stick out on a bare area.
Therefore, it is necessary that at the end of the poppy flowering period, a plant should cover with its foliage the unpleasant empty places left from it. Or, in place of the poppy, you can plant any annual colored crop.
Therefore, the choice of soil for the annual poppy is determined not so much by the plant itself, but by its possible “follower”. Such followers can be, for example, delphiniums, cornflowers or asters.
Sowing perennial poppies
Biennial and perennial poppies are planted in the same way. At the same time, their planting can be done either in early spring or late autumn.
Planting before winter is more popular, since the plant material obtained in this case is stronger and more durable. "Winter" poppies have a faster rate of development and earlier flowering.
poppy seeds
Spring sowing involves more thorough and intensive care of young plants.as they face hot weather and possible droughts. This is not scary for adult plants, and young ones will require additional watering and top dressing.
Sometimes for biennial and perennial varieties, spring planting is carried out on seedlings. beds. When the first or second leaf appears, they are picked and transplanted to a permanent place. A similar planting method is relevant for a cold climate or for growing poppies by a certain period. In most cases, the planting of such plants is carried out immediately at the place of cultivation.
poppy seedling
Planting before winter should take place as late as possible, since even in cold soil the seeds are capable of rapid germination, and they may have time to hatch before the start of winter. Even a temperature of + 3-5 ° C is not an obstacle for this. Poppy should be sown before winter when the topsoil has time to freeze. Basically, this time comes in the 1-2 decades of November.
Planting in the spring is carried out as soon as the weather conditions allow (it is enough to completely leave the snow from the site and warm the topsoil).
Regardless of the timing of sowing seeds, the technique of sowing them remains unchanged. It is as follows:
- Soil preparation before planting. To do this, the soil is dug up to the depth of one bayonet of a shovel, loosened and cleared of weeds and plant mass - rhizomes and stem residues. After that, it is necessary to apply some kind of organic fertilizer (for example, a solution of mullein in water at a concentration of 1 to 10 in the amount of 10 kg per 1 sq. M) and a complex of mineral fertilizers (any complex fertilizer in the amount of 50-60 g per sq. M) . You can do without top dressing, but the flowering will be almost half as intense.
- At the landing site, gently draw shallow furrows at a distance of 20 cm from each other. Their depth should not exceed 3 cm. Moreover, when planting in the spring, you can not make furrows at all, but sow on the surface.
- Seeds are placed at a sufficiently large distance from each other (from 5 to 15 cm) so that the plants do not thin out. Germination of seeds of perennial poppies is almost 100%, so they are placed one at a time. If you make a denser sowing, then the plants will have to be further thinned out twice (at the beginning to a distance of 10 cm between the bushes, and then up to 20 cm). In addition, empty places in the place of unsprouted seeds can be filled in the next year.
- Winter crops are covered with a layer of soil about 1 cm thick. They should not be deepened or powdered furrows completely. After that, watering is done. Spring sowing is "symbolically" sprinkled on top with soil, watered and covered with a film to accelerate germination. Watering is preferably carried out with a watering can with a very small divider or even with a spray gun to prevent the seeds from being washed out.
- After watering the spring planting, a constant soil moisture should be maintained for 10-15 days. and monitor seed germination. As soon as the first shoots appear, the film must be removed.
Poppy self-seeding one month after planting
Young poppies are highly frost-resistant. Only in some cases is it allowed to use additional protection for spring crops (with long spring frosts below -5 ° C). As such protection, you can use any non-woven materials.
Sowing annual plants
Similar to perennial poppies, annuals can be planted either before winter or in early spring.
Planting in the spring is limited by two factors: the time of snow melting with the heating of the upper soil layer and weather conditions. Usually, it is produced in mid-March for the southern regions, or from April to May for colder climates.
Sowing annual plants is similar to sowing perennials.
The planting method also repeats all the stages of planting perennials.. The main thing in this process is not to deepen the seeds too much. The only difference is that the planting is more dense - the distance between the seeds in a row is about 5 cm, and the seeds themselves are planted in groups of 2-4 pieces.
Thickened crops are necessary to guarantee the filling of the site with plants, since perennials, in the absence of germination in individual seeds, can be adjusted and resowed from year to year, and there will be no such chance for annual plants.
Plants are thinned out after germination.: only the largest remain at a distance of 15-20 cm from each other.
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plant care
Macs can do without care at all. Even dry summer they endure perfectly. Exceptions are young (up to 1 month old) annuals and perennials of the first year of life. On the other hand, poppies should not be completely forgotten either. Providing them with conditions that are somewhat more comfortable than the minimum can significantly increase the number of flowers formed and the duration of flowering.
Blooming poppy flower
If we are talking about obtaining seeds for cooking, then in this case, plant care becomes mandatory, since the yield is directly proportional to the number of flowers set and ripened fruits.
The main thing in caring for poppies is work with the soil. Young plants require regular weeding and loosening of the soil so that they can compete with other plants around them.
Plants with high stems, especially those on which fruit boxes ripen, are recommended to be tied to pegs driven in next to them.
Watering
Watering will be especially important for plants planted in early spring in the first two months of their life. Plants planted in autumn especially require watering during the active growing season (April-May, less often June).
It should be done strictly under the root using a narrow watering can so that moisture does not get on the leaves of the plant. In addition, there should not be much water. The task of watering is not to moisten the soil, but to prevent it from drying out.
During active vegetation, poppy should be watered under the root
It is recommended to water poppies once a week; water consumption in this case should be 5 liters per square meter. m plot. During the growing season, the watering rate is increased. If the weather is hot, then the frequency of irrigation is reduced to 4 days, and the flow rate is left the same. Under normal weather, the frequency remains equal to one week, and the water consumption increases to 7-10 liters per 1 sq. km. m depending on the degree of soil moisture.
It is best to water in calm cloudy weather or in the evening just before sunset.
Loosening and weeding
Usually, both procedures are performed immediately after watering. In some cases, there may not be watering because the ground is still wet. But loosening the soil should be done constantly with the same frequency - once a week.
Several times a month you need to weed the poppy, ridding the ground of weeds.
Loosening is carried out to a depth of about 2-3 cm, aiming to provide air access to the roots of the plant.
Weeding is done as needed, that is, upon the appearance of new weeds. Usually, it is carried out once every two weeks and is carried out at the next loosening. Not only the areas around the bushes are subjected to weeding, but also the space between the rows.
top dressing
Poppy is fed several times a season. Each time, top dressing of the same composition is used, which was considered earlier when planting seeds.
open poppy
In total, poppy is fed 3-4 times per season:
- the first dressing is done at planting (in the second decade of March for two- and perennial plants)
- the second feeding corresponds to the main phase of active vegetation and is carried out in mid-April
- the third top dressing is carried out during the beginning of flowering
- the fourth is applied 1-2 weeks after the end of flowering
The last top dressing should not contain any nitrogenous fertilizers, therefore both organic and mineral components containing nitrogen should be excluded.
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In fact, these methods are indirect consequences of the rejuvenation of too dense poppy thickets, which are threatened with death from excessive crowding. This method of reproduction is rather a forced measure, since even perennial poppy has a negative attitude to any form of transplantation.
Preparation of root cuttings
However, it is recommended to dig out perennial poppies from the ground every 3-4 years and separate their rhizomes. Although, the term "separate" is hardly appropriate here - we are talking about the separation of side shoots and stem rosettes.
The children thus obtained are seated in new places where it is relatively difficult to take root. Difficulties can manifest themselves in the length of time for adaptation to new conditions, a decrease in growth rates, diseases and other negative phenomena. But, in any case, it is also a propagation method and for perennials it is faster than growing them from seeds.
Another alternative to seeds is the use of cuttings. Root cuttings are obtained from the stubble part of the plant root, their length is from 4 to 6 cm, and the minimum thickness should be at least 5 mm.
Green poppy stems
Both sections of the cutting are processed with crushed charcoal and planted in the ground for germination. When planting, the cuttings are buried in the ground by 2.5-4 cm. They are watered and covered with impromptu greenhouses made of cut plastic bottles. After about 3-4 weeks, the cuttings take root and produce leaves. After that, they can be transplanted to a new place.
Another cutting method uses green cuttings.. As a rule, they are made from lateral weak shoots, on which flowers may not appear at all. Usually, such shoots are formed after the end of flowering, and their appearance is extended until the end of summer.
The length of green cuttings is also from 4 to 6 cm.. However, their germination and rooting is carried out not in the garden, but in a peat substrate. Green cuttings germinate similarly to root cuttings (with the same depth and mini-greenhouse). Their rooting time is the same. After rooting, they are planted in open ground. For the winter, young seedlings are covered with a 10 cm layer of mulch from any material at hand.
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Diseases and pests
Leaf damage by powdery mildew
The main problem for poppies is fungal diseases. The most common fungal diseases of poppies are powdery mildew, downy mildew and fusarium.
With powdery mildew the leaves are covered with a white coating, similar to a cobweb. After its disappearance, you can see the bodies of fungi in the form of black small spots. Powdery mildew significantly inhibits plant growth and prevents the formation of flowers and fruits.
Poppy secretive trunk
The fight against it is carried out by spraying poppy leaves with solutions of the following compositions: 40 g of copper chloride in 10 liters of water or 50 g of soda in 10 liters of water.
With peronosporosis the leaves are covered with spots of a red-brown hue and are significantly deformed. In addition, there is a curvature of the stems and peduncles. At the next stage of the lesion, the bodies of fungi appear on the leaves in the form of purple spots. At the same time, growth slows down in the plant, and the size of flowers and fruit boxes is significantly reduced.
Counteracting peronosporosis is carried out similarly to the fight against powdery mildew.
Fusarium is the most annoying poppy disease. With it, the leaves turn black, and the entire bush begins to dry out, since the entire vascular system of the plant is affected. It is impossible to cure this disease, so the infected plant must be immediately removed and destroyed, and the place where it grew should be treated with some kind of fungicide.
There are relatively few pests capable of infecting poppies. Most often, plants are attacked by weevil or poppy secretive proboscis. Both pests in their adult form damage the root system of the plant, and the larvae of the secretive proboscis also feed on its leaves.
Poppy secretive trunk
Pest control consists in preventive tillage before planting with Bazudin or Chlorophos. Application rates are usually indicated on the packaging of drugs. If pests are found on plants, they should be treated three times with Chlorophos solution. The break between treatments is 10 days. When processing, insecticide should not be allowed to get on poppy flowers and fruits.
Conclusion
Poppies are hardy and beautiful flowers that can spice up any garden. They look great both as a monoplant in flowerbeds, and in a group with other plants. Agrotechnics of poppies is very simple and even novice flower growers can grow them.
Poppy terry, peony.
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