How to Plant a Poppy Container Garden

Learn how to plant a container garden for various types of poppies with this step-by-step gardening guide.

Excerpted from Ready, Set, Grow! by DK BooksDorling Kindersley
Filed under: Gardening, Flowers, How To

The crinkled silky petals of poppies appear in a wonderful array of colors that attract bees and butterflies, and birds enjoy eating the seeds. Plan to sow the seeds in early spring for summer flowering or in early summer for fall flowering or for flowering the next spring. We've used seeds of the Iceland poppy variety. This project takes 12 weeks to complete.

Materials Needed:

container (e.g., flowering pot or recycled juice container)
unfertilized soil
poppy seeds
watering can

1. Add Soil

Fill up a prepared container with unfertilized soil. Poppies grow best in poor, lightly moistened soil. Make a shallow trench around the container using your finger.

How to Prepare Soil For Planting Poppies

2. Choose Your Seeds

There are more than 120 species in the poppy family. Some of the best for containers include the Ladybug Poppy (seen here), California Poppy and Iceland Poppy.

3. Sow the Seeds

Sprinkle the seeds into the trench and cover with a very little soil. Position the container in a sunny spot and keep the soil slightly moist until the shoots appear.