Meconopsis- blue poppy - lingholm. Bareroot hostas
dizzylizzy
Posts: 91
in Plants
Always fancied growing these, but have had no sucess from seed-used multi purpose - why?
Believe they are tricky to grow form seed, and establish in the garden - what are your tips for success? Even Monty struggled and had to buy some well-established plants.
Just received 2 large plugs - 2.5 inches high- should I pot on or plant out, and what compost should I use? My soil is clay and not sure on the PH, but belive is neutral to alkline going by what I can grow. Peiris with supplements, pink hydrangeas, even tulips survive the clay.
Also received some bareroot hostas should I pot on first and plant out in a few weeks?
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The meconopsis do well in scotland in damp acid woodland type conditions.
In the sticks near Peterborough
I grow them from seed, but I sow the seed in late autumn and keep it in a cold greenhouse. The seeds germinate the following spring. These plants like a cool moist siyuation in partial shade in a humus rich soil ideally with added leaf mould.
I would pot them on to make slightly bigger plants, and plant out mid May. Have you got some garden compost you could mix with multipurpose for potting on?
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
I sowed some in february in the unheated greenhouse, then brought them into the house a month ago, and they have germinated (well 5 have), just getting thier first true leaf now.
Will probably move them to a coldframe on a north west wall when they are potted on, as i think it'll be too hot in the greenhouse for them.
I have sown Lingholm (got them from Chilterns Seeds), and although the germinated and grew on, they didn't survive the winter, so, being biennial (or short term perennial), i never saw them flower.
They need very special conditions from what I gather - rich, well drained, but moisture retentive acid soil in semi shade, and better in the cooler Northern half of the country.
We were high up in the Welsh hills, had acid soil that was moisture retentive, but it was not so well drained so the roots were in soggy soil in winter and I think that did for them.
Although Chiltern Seeds claimed this variety was not monocarpic (did not die after flowering in year 2), I read other stuff that suggested that unless you had super soil conditions the flowering would exhaust the root system. Well, I had my go at it, because they look so lovely, but have resigned myself to never growing them successfully, especially now I am in alkaline heavy clay with no shade in Lincolnshire!
Seriously, best to let them get esablished in pots before liberating them.
"Barefoot" I like it!!
I have grown meconopsis from seed. I placed the seeds in a seed tray with seed starter mix in a plastic bag in the frig .when it germinated,I then planted it in a woodland part of the garden.
i have great success with "Lingholm" ,stratified them for a month then sowed them in a gritty mixed seed compost in a cold frame,going to try and save the seed this year,but the seed heads are not very plump