Jim McKenney wrote
One other memory: years ago I was given a generous packet of seed of one of the blue poppies. I sowed this in one of my bog trays in late winter. I soon had a patch of about a half square foot of thousands of seedlings they covered the ground like some yellow-green moss. That was easy I thought. Two months later not a one survived.
Meconopsis seedlings are very prone to damping off, which is caused by soil pathogens. One way to combat this is to surface-sow the seeds on milled sphagnum moss (not peat -- the actual moss, which you can buy in small bags from garden centers, and I've read that you should be careful not to breath the dust). Moisten the moss before topping up the seed pot with it, and after sowing the seeds either mist them frequently or cover them with a type of film that keeps water in but allows air through. Don't sow them too thickly or you'll have trouble potting them on.
I used to grow a lot of different Meconopsis species this way, but after a few glorious years the slug population got the taste for them and I had to give them up. Now I have a new, more controllable garden environment so will start with them again -- especially since my potting shed with its seed shelves has just been built.
Jane McGary Portland, Oregon, USA
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