How to propagate California poppy

How to propagate California poppy: sowing seeds

Selection of planting season for California poppy

Propagate by sowing, and sow in autumn in areas where the soil does not freeze in winter. In northern regions, seedlings are grown indoors in early spring. Under conditions of 15-20℃, they will emerge in about 7 days.

Management of California Poppy after sowing

Dig up the seedlings and pot them in time before the true leaves develop. After there is no frost, remove them from the pots and plant them with soil (be careful not to damage the roots, otherwise they will have difficulty in resuming growth or even die). You can also sow directly in the field before the ground freezes. With the protection of wind barriers, the seedlings will emerge from the soil the following year. Sufficient water and nutrients should be provided during the seedling stage. Promote its healthy growth.

After sowing in the autumn, when encountering cold waves and low temperatures, you can wrap the flower pots with plastic film to keep warm and moisturize; after the seedlings emerge from the soil, remove the film in time and expose the seedlings to sunlight before 9:30 am every day or after 3:30 pm, otherwise the seedlings will grow very weakly; after most of the seeds have emerged, they need to be thinned out appropriately: pull out the diseased and unhealthy seedlings so that the remaining seedlings have a certain space between each other; when most of the seedlings have grown 3 or more leaves, they can be transplanted into pots.

How to propagate California poppies: cuttings

California Poppy Cutting Medium

It is the nutrient soil or river sand, peat soil and other materials used for cuttings. It is difficult to get an ideal cutting medium for home cuttings due to limited conditions. It is recommended to use the prepared and sterilized cutting medium provided by this site. Medium-coarse river sand can also be used, but it must be rinsed with clean water several times before use. Do not use sea sand or river sand from saline-alkali areas as they are not suitable for the growth of flowers and plants.

Selection of cuttings for California poppy

The branches used for cuttings are called cuttings. Usually combined with the pinching work, the picked strong, disease-free and insect-free tops are used as cuttings, and the tops are directly used for cuttings.

Management of California Poppy after Cutting

Temperature: The optimum temperature for rooting of cuttings is 18℃~25℃. Below 18℃, rooting of cuttings is difficult and slow; above 25℃, the cut ends of cuttings are easily infected by pathogens and rot, and the higher the temperature, the greater the proportion of rot.

Humidity: After cuttings, the relative humidity of the air must be maintained at 75~85%. You can increase the humidity by spraying the cuttings 1 to 3 times a day. The higher the temperature on sunny days, the more times you spray. The lower the temperature on rainy days, the less often you spray or you don’t spray at all. However, if you spray too much, the cuttings will easily be infected by pathogens and rot, because many types of pathogens exist in water.

Light: Cutting propagation cannot be separated from sunlight. However, the stronger the light, the higher the temperature inside the cuttings, the more vigorous the transpiration of the cuttings, the more water is consumed, which is not conducive to the survival of the cuttings. Therefore, after cuttings, 50~80% of the sunlight must be blocked. After the roots grow out, the shading net can be gradually removed: on sunny days, remove the shading net at 4:00 p.m. every day, and cover it before 9:00 am the next day.