To grow poppies from seed, sow them straight into the garden while the weather is cool, cover them barely or not at all, and leave the seedlings where they come up. In mild-winter areas that means sowing in fall. Where winters are cold, sow in late fall after a hard frost, or in early spring as soon as the soil can be worked. The details change by species, and we sell three: California poppy (Eschscholzia californica), corn poppy (Papaver rhoeas, the Shirley and Flanders poppy, which we sell as American Legion) and Iceland poppy (Papaver nudicaule). This guide puts all three in one table, sorts out the two questions seed sources still argue about, and shows how much ground each of our packs actually covers.
It does not cover breadseed or opium poppy (Papaver somniferum), which we do not sell.
California, Corn and Iceland Poppies Compared
Sowing months are by USDA hardiness zone. Days to bloom count from a spring sowing; seed sown in fall waits out the winter and flowers the following spring.
| California poppy | Corn poppy (Shirley, Flanders) | Iceland poppy | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Botanical name | Eschscholzia californica | Papaver rhoeas | Papaver nudicaule |
| Life cycle | Annual; a short-lived perennial in zones 8 to 10 | Hardy annual that reseeds | Short-lived perennial, usually grown as a cool-season annual or biennial |
| Sow in zones 8 to 10 | October to December, ahead of winter rain | October to December | Late August to October, for winter and spring flowers |
| Sow in zones 3 to 7 | Early spring as soon as the soil can be worked, or late fall after a hard frost in zones 5 to 7 | Late fall after a hard frost, or early spring as soon as the soil can be worked | Late fall, or early spring; or start in cell trays 6 to 8 weeks before planting out |
| Light or dark to sprout | Disputed. Most sources say cover 1/16 inch | Disputed. Some say leave uncovered, others say up to 1/4 inch deep | Light. Sow on the surface (sources agree) |
| Cold treatment | Usually skipped; one seed house calls for 2 weeks | Not needed | Disputed; most growers skip it |
| Days to sprout | 14 to 21 at 60 to 65°F | 10 to 14 at 55°F; 14 to 21 at 60 to 75°F | 7 to 12 at 65 to 75°F in trays; 20 to 30 outdoors |
| Days to bloom (spring sowing) | 55 to 60 | 55 to 65 | 85 to 100 |
| Thin to | 6 inches | 6 to 8 inches | 6 to 12 inches |
| As a cut flower | Short-lived: 3 to 4 days per flower, cut in colored bud, no searing | Short-lived: 2 to 4 days, cut as buds show color, sear the stems | The best of the three: 5 to 7 days, cut at cracking bud, sear the stems |
Where the numbers come from: Johnny's Selected Seeds for germination, days to bloom, spacing and vase life (its Iceland figures are for its Champagne Bubbles mix); Cornell University for corn poppy's 55°F germination; Botanical Interests, Wildseed Farms and the USDA Forest Service for sowing windows; NC State Extension for life cycle; Floret for cutting. Full list at the end.
When to Sow Poppy Seeds
Poppies are cool-weather plants. Cornell describes the corn poppy as preferring cool weather and disliking heat and humidity, and Johnny's says Iceland poppies grow best below 70°F, with flower quality dropping as it warms up. All three also dislike being transplanted, so you cannot make up for a late start by setting out bigger plants later. That is why the calendar matters more for poppies than for most annuals.
Mild winters (zones 8 to 10): sow in fall
Sow California and corn poppies from October through December. The USDA Forest Service notes that California poppy seed sown in fall sprouts after the first fall rains, and the Theodore Payne Foundation says fall-sown seed needs only winter rain to establish. Wildseed Farms likewise says corn poppy does best sown in late fall in southern regions. Iceland poppies go in earlier: Botanical Interests recommends late summer to early fall in mild climates, for flowers through winter and spring.
Cold winters (zones 3 to 7): late fall or early spring
You get two windows. The first is a dormant sowing in late fall, after a hard frost, when the soil is too cold for the seed to sprout before spring. Cornell gives late fall as one of its two sowing times for corn poppy, and Outsidepride says the same for poppies in general. The second is early spring, as soon as the soil can be worked, which Johnny's and Floret both give for corn poppy and Botanical Interests puts at 4 to 6 weeks before your average last frost.
We lean toward the fall sowing, except for California poppy in zones 3 and 4, where we would wait for spring. The seed is already in place when the first cool, damp days of spring arrive, and there is no race to get it in before the weather turns warm. If you missed fall, early spring works; just do not wait for warm soil, because by then the poppies are behind.
How to Sow Poppy Seeds
- Pick a spot in full sun with soil that drains. NC State Extension lists California poppy for full sun and poor soil and notes it will not grow in shade. Skip the fertilizer; West Coast Seeds advises against feeding poppies.
- Clear the weeds and rake the soil fine and level. Poppy seedlings are tiny, and weeds that come up alongside them are hard to pull without uprooting the poppies too.
- Mix the seed with dry sand. Corn and Iceland poppy seed is close to dust: Johnny's counts about 208,500 corn poppy seeds and 159,900 Iceland poppy seeds to the ounce. Cornell suggests sand for an even spread. California poppy seed is bigger, about 17,350 to the ounce, and scatters easily on its own.
- Scatter the seed, then press it into the surface. A board, the back of a rake or the flat of your hand all work. How much soil goes on top depends on the species, which is the first argument below.
- Keep the surface damp until seedlings appear. Fall sowings in rainy climates usually need no help. For spring sowings, mist rather than soak, so the seed does not wash into one corner of the bed.
- Thin when the seedlings are 1 to 2 inches tall, the height Botanical Interests gives. Johnny's final spacing is 6 inches for California poppy, 6 to 8 inches for corn poppy and 6 to 12 inches for Iceland poppy. Our guide on when to thin seedlings covers the timing in more detail.
Do not start California or corn poppies indoors. Johnny's notes that corn poppy has a delicate taproot that does not respond well to root disturbance, and Botanical Interests says the same of poppies generally. Iceland poppy is the one exception, covered in its section below. The scatter-and-press method is the same one we use for meadow flowers, so our guide on how to sow and grow wildflowers is a good companion read.
Two Things Seed Sources Disagree On
Do poppy seeds need light to germinate?
Most poppy guides say yes, without qualification. The growers and researchers do not all agree, and the answer is different for each species.
Corn poppy is the real argument. Johnny's says to plant the seed 1/4 inch deep "as they require darkness to germinate," and Cornell says to cover it with a light layer because darkness aids germination. Wildseed Farms and Outsidepride say to leave it on the surface. A Swedish study in the Annals of Botany (Karlsson and Milberg) germinated corn poppy seed both in light and in continuous darkness, and reported that darkness at moderate temperatures reduced the seed's dormancy. So darkness is not a dealbreaker, and neither is light. Our call: press the seed in and rake very lightly, so some seed sits on top and some is just covered. A quarter inch is the deepest we would go.
California poppy takes a light cover. The USDA Forest Service, Wildseed Farms and Western Native Seed all say 1/16 inch deep; Johnny's says 1/4 inch, and Outsidepride says not to cover poppy seed at all. By Johnny's counts each California poppy seed weighs about twelve times as much as a corn poppy seed, and it handles a dusting of soil well. Our call: 1/16 inch.
Iceland poppy is the one everyone agrees on. Johnny's, Botanical Interests and Sheffield's Seed all say to sow it on the surface, and Sheffield's lists it as requiring light to germinate.
Do poppy seeds need cold stratification?
California poppy, by most accounts, does not: Western Native Seed lists no pretreatment, and the Theodore Payne Foundation rates the seed easy, needing simple or no pretreatment. Eden Brothers is the exception and calls for two weeks of cold stratification before planting. A fall sowing takes care of that either way. Corn poppy does not need it: Cornell gives a germination temperature of 55°F, and in the Annals of Botany study corn poppy sprouted in both autumn and spring.
Iceland poppy is where the advice splits. Sheffield's Seed lists its stratification need as "none required," and Floret's team says pre-chilling isn't necessary. Kitchen Garden Seeds, on the other hand, says its Iceland poppy seed appreciates the stratification winter provides. Our call: skip the fridge. A fall or winter sowing outdoors gives the seed any chill it might want for free. If you are sowing in spring and want to try a chill anyway, our guide on how to stratify seeds walks through it.
California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica)
California poppy belongs to the poppy family but is not a Papaver, which is why Floret calls it "not actually poppies at all." It is the easiest of the three. NC State lists it for full sun and poor soil, 1 to 2 feet tall, flowering from late spring through summer. It grows as an annual in most of the country and can live a few years as a short-lived perennial in zones 8 to 10. It reseeds, and NC State suggests deadheading if you do not want it to spread.
Our best seller is Mission Bells, a six-color mix of pink, salmon, scarlet, cream, apricot and golden orange. Six thousand seeds weigh 9 grams, which tells you how much easier this seed is to handle than corn or Iceland poppy. For a single golden orange, Golden West is the one; we also carry white Ivory Castle and red Red Chief.
As a cut flower, California poppy splits opinion. Botanical Interests says California poppies don't hold up as cut flowers. Floret cuts them in colored bud and gets 3 to 4 days from each flower, with new buds opening along the stem for about a week, and says they need no searing. We use them in arrangements meant to last a few days, or just leave them in the garden.
Corn Poppy (Papaver rhoeas): Shirley, Flanders and American Legion
Corn poppy goes by several names. Botanical Interests groups Flanders and Shirley poppies under Papaver rhoeas: the single scarlet field poppy, which Cornell ties to the World War I poem "In Flanders Fields," and the Shirley strains in softer colors. Our American Legion poppy seeds are the single red.
It is a hardy annual, 12 to 24 inches tall by Johnny's measure and up to 3 feet by Cornell's. Each flower lasts a single day, NC State notes, but Floret says one plant keeps opening new ones for up to six weeks.
Know this before you sow: corn poppy self-seeds hard. NC State says it "can easily escape from cultivation and has been described as weedy," and Cornell warns it can become a weedy nuisance. NC State also notes its seed has sprouted after 80 years in the soil. In a garden bed that persistence is the point. Next to a farm field or a natural area, deadhead the flowers before the pods ripen.
For the vase, Johnny's says to cut when the buds are swollen and showing color, sear the stem ends, and expect 2 to 4 days; Floret gets 3 to 4. The open flowers shed clouds of pollen, which Floret flags for anyone with allergies.
Iceland Poppy (Papaver nudicaule)
Iceland poppy is a short-lived perennial that most gardeners grow as a cool-season annual or biennial; Floret says flower farmers grow it as a hardy annual or biennial, and Johnny's lists it for zones 4 to 9. It makes the best cut flower of the three and is the fussiest to start.
The sources split again on whether you can sow it in place. Floret says Iceland poppies "cannot be direct-seeded and must be started in trays." Johnny's and Botanical Interests both give direct sowing: Johnny's says to surface-sow in early spring, fall or winter and keep the soil evenly moist, and Botanical Interests recommends direct sowing outright. Our take: in mild-winter zones, direct-sow in late summer or early fall and hold some seed back in case the first sowing washes out. In cold zones, sow outdoors in late fall or early spring, or start the seed in small cell trays 6 to 8 weeks before planting out, as Johnny's suggests, and move each plant with its root ball intact. In trays at 65 to 75°F, Johnny's gives 7 to 12 days to sprout.
Our Iceland poppy seeds come 3,500 to a pack, and the whole pack weighs 0.6 grams. That is why the sand trick in the sowing steps matters so much here.
Cutting and searing poppies
Iceland poppies earn their reputation in the vase. Floret cuts them at the cracking-bud stage, when the bud has just split and shows a sliver of color, and gets up to a week; Johnny's gives 5 to 7 days. Both corn and Iceland poppies need their stems seared as soon as they are cut. Botanical Interests says to dip the stem ends in boiling water for 10 seconds or singe them in a flame, Floret gives 7 to 10 seconds, and Cornell suggests 20 to 30 seconds in boiling water for corn poppy. We start at 10 seconds. California poppies skip this step.
How Far Does a Pack of Poppy Seeds Go?
Coverage depends on how thickly you sow, so we did the math from one published rate per species. Wildseed Farms' sowing rates work out to about 54 California poppy seeds per square foot (8 pounds per acre at 293,000 seeds per pound) and about 147 corn poppy and 128 Iceland poppy seeds per square foot (1 ounce over 1,361 square feet). That makes a full, solid stand. Other seed houses run lighter or heavier for California poppy: Western Native Seed's rate of 6 pounds per acre works out to about 40 seeds per square foot, and the Theodore Payne Foundation sows 1 ounce over 272 square feet. Here is what our packs cover at the Wildseed Farms rates.
| Pack | Seeds | Covers about (solid stand) | Enough for this many 4 x 8 ft beds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Formula Mix California poppy | 1,000 | 20 sq ft | 0.6 |
| Mission Bells California poppy | 2,200 | 40 sq ft | 1.3 |
| Ivory Castle California poppy | 2,500 | 45 sq ft | 1.5 |
| Formula Mix California poppy | 3,000 | 55 sq ft | 1.7 |
| Mission Bells California poppy, 2-pack | 4,400 | 80 sq ft | 2.6 |
| Red Chief California poppy, 2-pack | 5,000 | 95 sq ft | 2.9 |
| Mission Bells or Golden West California poppy | 6,000 | 110 sq ft | 3.5 |
| Ballerina Mix California poppy | 10,000 | 185 sq ft | 5.8 |
| Formula Mix California poppy | 11,000 | 205 sq ft | 6.4 |
| Red Chief California poppy | 22,000 | 410 sq ft | 12.8 |
| American Legion corn poppy | 6,000 | 40 sq ft | 1.3 |
| Iceland poppy | 3,500 | 25 sq ft | 0.9 |
| Iceland poppy, 2-pack | 7,000 | 55 sq ft | 1.7 |
Put another way, a 4 x 8 foot bed takes about 1,700 California poppy seeds, 4,700 corn poppy seeds or 4,100 Iceland poppy seeds at these rates. For a looser scatter through an existing border or meadow, the same pack goes further; you will simply have fewer seedlings to choose from when you thin. That is also why these numbers will not match the coverage printed on our packs. Most of our poppy labels assume a thin, meadow-style scatter of a few seeds per square foot and list a much larger area, and a few assume a thicker sowing than this table. Use the label figure for a meadow scatter and this table for a bed that fills in solid.
Are Poppies Safe Around Pets?
Sources disagree, and none of the veterinary references we checked settles the question for these three plants.
- The ASPCA's toxic and non-toxic plant lists for dogs, cats and horses do not include California, corn or Iceland poppy at all, either way. We checked in October 2026. A plant missing from the list has not been cleared as safe.
- Corn poppy contains alkaloids, including rhoeadine. The Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland says these make the plant unpalatable or sickening to grazing animals, and also notes there are no recent cases of animals poisoned by it in the British Isles. The Hawaii-Pacific Weed Risk Assessment lists corn poppy as toxic to cattle and other animals if they eat large quantities.
- For California and Iceland poppy, we found pet-care websites calling them non-toxic and others calling them mildly toxic, with no veterinary listing behind either claim. The University of California's Plant Safely list does call California poppy toxic if eaten.
What we do: plant poppies where pets and livestock will not graze on them. If an animal eats a quantity of any poppy, call your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435.
Poppy Seed Questions We See Most
How long do poppy seeds take to sprout?
California poppy takes 14 to 21 days at 60 to 65°F, and corn poppy 10 to 14 days at 55°F (Johnny's and Cornell). Iceland poppy sprouts in 7 to 12 days in a warm seed tray, but Wildseed Farms gives 20 to 30 days outdoors. Seed sown in late fall in a cold zone will not show until spring, which is the plan.
When should I plant poppy seeds in zone 9?
In fall. Sow California and corn poppies from October to December and Iceland poppies from late August to October.
Can poppies grow in pots?
California poppy can; Floret describes it as well suited to containers. Because poppies dislike being moved, sow the seed directly into the pot it will flower in rather than transplanting seedlings into it.
Do poppies come back every year?
Often, but mostly from seed. Corn poppy is an annual that reseeds heavily. California poppy is an annual in most zones, a short-lived perennial in zones 8 to 10, and it reseeds. Iceland poppy is a short-lived perennial that Johnny's says readily self-sows.
Sources: Johnny's Selected Seeds, California Poppy, Corn Poppy and Champagne Bubbles Mix Iceland Poppy product pages and Corn Poppy and Iceland Poppy Key Growing Information; Cornell University, Flower Growing Guides: Poppy (Papaver rhoeas); NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, Eschscholzia californica and Papaver rhoeas; USDA Forest Service, Plant of the Week: California Poppy; Botanical Interests, Poppy: Sow and Grow Guide and Nudicaule Blend Iceland Poppy; Wildseed Farms, California Poppy, Corn Poppy and Iceland Poppy; Western Native Seed, Eschscholzia californica; Theodore Payne Foundation, Eschscholzia californica seed; Sheffield's Seed Co., Papaver nudicaule; Kitchen Garden Seeds, Meadow Pastels Poppy Mixture; Outsidepride, Planting Instructions for Poppy Seeds; West Coast Seeds, How to Grow Poppies; Floret, Poppy Primer; K. Karlsson and P. Milberg, "A Comparative Study of Germination Ecology of Four Papaver Taxa," Annals of Botany 99 (2007); Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland, Papaver rhoeas species account; Hawaii-Pacific Weed Risk Assessment, Papaver rhoeas; ASPCA, Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant List (dogs, cats, horses); UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, Plant Safely in Drought-Tolerant Landscapes.
Sowing this fall? Start with Mission Bells California poppy seeds: 6,000 seeds sows about 110 square feet as a full stand (three 4 x 8 beds), and far more as a thin meadow scatter. Or browse all of our flower seeds.
