Poppy Flower Seeds

Poppies are well-known for their attractive, cup-shaped blooms with delicate, papery petals. Their beautiful flowers on upright stems are synonymous with British summertime as they sway gently in the breeze from July to September. Also known by the Latin name Papaver, poppies may be annuals such as field poppies, Flaneders poppies and corn poppies, including a type called Shirley poppies, or large-flowered perennial plants – see our poppy perennial plants section. Poppies are of course the enduring symbol of remembrance of the First World War, strongly linked with Armistice Day on 11 November with its origin in the poppy-lined landscapes of WW1. One species of poppy, Papaver somniferum, is also known for being the source of opium. Annual and biennial poppies will thrive in very poor and stony soils where little else will grow. They’re well suited to cottage garden planting schemes and their nectar-rich flowers are highly effective at attracting bees, butterflies, hoverflies and other beneficial insects into the garden. Leave the seed heads on some plants after flowering if you want them to self-seed for the following year.