Can I move/transplant poppies?

[lesa]

I planted some poppies a few years ago, under a walking stick bush. At the time there was plenty of room. Well the walking stick has grown huge and the poppies are buried under the leaves of it. I love those flowers- they are the beautiful peach shade.... Can I dig them up and move them? If so when?

 

[momofdrew]

I have moved poppies and 1/2 the time they have died the other 1/2 they have thrived...I do know that they have a deep tap root and with out that root they will die...

 

[vfem]

I wish I could be of help, but my California poppies have never survived a move. They seem to fragile.

 

[catjac1975]

If they are Oriental poppies you must be very careful. Fall is the best time. They have a long tap root so you must take care to not damage it. I pot them up and let them grow in the pots all winter then carefully plant them with out disturbing the roots. Give them lots of water though not to saturate-just don't let them dry out. Once they take they will last a lifetime.

I planted some poppies a few years ago, under a walking stick bush. At the time there was plenty of room. Well the walking stick has grown huge and the poppies are buried under the leaves of it. I love those flowers- they are the beautiful peach shade.... Can I dig them up and move them? If so when?

 

[lesa]

Drat, this doesn't sound promising... What if I make the garden a little bigger- will they move to the better spot? I know that sounds dumb- but my cone flowers did that! What about trying to start them from the seeds in the seedpod- anyone had any luck with that?

 

[catjac1975]

Cone flowers reseed easily. I doubt they actually migrated. I have started poppies many times. Ripe seed starts easily. I have glorious pinks that I have cross pollinated with others. I had a pink and orange cultivar that's petals were every other color. I thought I had created my million dollar winner. I transplanted it for more room before I knew of their delicacy and killed my only plant. I would at least try transplanting them and wait until it is cool. Some will survive.If they are not orientals they will have a fibrous root and are easy to transplant.

Drat, this doesn't sound promising... What if I make the garden a little bigger- will they move to the better spot? I know that sounds dumb- but my cone flowers did that! What about trying to start them from the seeds in the seedpod- anyone had any luck with that?

 

[ducks4you]

I think you might have some success tranplanting the way I have been doing it this year. I have moved about 35 volunteer tomatoes and I just removed, reBEDDED and put back 4 geraniums, 4 petunias and 4 lobellas--I have a red (geranium), white (petunia) and blue (lobella) theme--next to my front walk. THIS is how I did it with no damage.
1) Dig around the plants carefully so you don't touch the roots, just the dirt around them.
2) Carefully place the plants in a bucket or big pot that holds the plants and is 1/2-full of water. This keeps the roots moist.
3) Till (hand or other) the new planting area thoroughly so there is room for easy new root growth.
4) Dig with a spade a hole bigger than needed to replant.
5) Place the plant in the hole and hand-fill the dirt around it.
6) Water thoroughly afterwards, until you see new growth.
In MY case I have to avoid over-watering the geraniums bc they like it dryer and have deeper roots--These are the ones I over-wintered in my upstairs windows--than the annuals that I bought.
Hope this helps!

 

[catjac1975]

Oriental poppies are a lot more sensitive than the plants that you listed.

 

[ducks4you]

I'm sure that they are, but I wanted to share how I learned to transplant flowers bc I've lost many bc of abuse. =b

 

[vfem]

All my other poppies just reseed themselves. I refrigerate the seeds over the winter and then sprinkle them out where I want them to grow in the late winter, sometime in March and give them a water.

My coneflowers have taken over! They transplant easy though, and I just to literally pull those stray coneflowers out of the yard almost daily.