Transplanting Oriental Poppies

by Pat
(Richmond, Va)

I did a search but did not find the answer to my question. I planted some Oriental Poppy seeds last fall directly into the bed and was happy to see them come up this Spring. They were too crowded and by mid-summer were going dormant and I was afraid of losing them all. I transplanted to a pot in the shade where they have come back nicely, but are still too crowded. Do I transplant back to the beds this fall or wait until Spring? Zone 7 Va.

Doug says that they'll overwinter better in the ground. And while you might have a few losses in the ground, you're likely to have more losses in the pot. What happens in VA is that you get those warm spells that break plant dormancy and then the cold returns. This goes on and on all winter. :-)

So a plant in a pot is going to heat up faster, start growing and then get whacked by weather. A few of those and your plants will simply die.

In the ground, you might lose a few but more will survive.

My .02 - transplant in the fall.