SOW ICELAND POPPIES

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 18, 5 February 1937, Page 11

SOW ICELAND POPPIES

The charming little poppjes belonging to the Nucicaule sections are exceedingV popular and their beauty and useful- ■ ness are demonstrated by the frequency with which they have figured in exhibition table-decorated schemes. It must be admitted that the flowers do not last long in a cut state, but they are borne in suoh profusion that it is an early matter to renew them frequently. By Sowing the sced at the present time, a good supply of plants can be obtained for flowering in winter and early spring when cut blooms are scarce. The seeds' of all varieties of poppy are xceedingly small and for that reason it is not always wise to sow them in the open ground; the results are far more certain if the seed is sown in boxes stood in a cold frame. The , boxes should be filled with light porous soil, having a large percentage of sand and leaf mould in it. Only the merest covering of fine material must be given to the seeds ; they will not germinate if bnried deeply. Properly sown, the plants soon appear and can be pricked off into large boxes or put into open ground. The Iceland Poppies are about 1ft. in height, giving useful stecms for decorative effects. The chief colours are white, yellow, orange and lemon. Both' these and the Alpine kinds lika a sunny position, with light, well-drained soil, but they are not very fastidious and the addition of a little light material will make the heaviest soil suitablp for them