Ok to grow poppies in SC??? (flowers, growing, peony, veggies)

[jaks10]

Hi everyone.

I have already posted in the Charleston area forums but figured its worth a

shot here too so here goes...

My family and I were in Walmart the other day and we were picking out all of

the things we wanted to grow this year.We got a couple of the usual flowers

and veggies and my daughter said she wanted to grow a pumpkin so we

headed over to the seed racks.We got her pumkin seeds and started looking

for anything else interesting,well we found it...POPPIES!Walmart had poppy seeds for growing

They were all beautiful but we got a pack of hen and chicks,giant peony mix

and lady bird poppies.

So to the question...Is it illegal to grow poppies in SC?Does anyone in SC

grow these?I would hate to have the DEA kick down my door for some flowers

[wit-nit]

Opium poppy's are illegal. What kind of poppy's does the seed package say they are?
http://www.gardensablaze.com/HerbPoppy.htm

[jaks10]

Thanks for the link
Thats the best info I have gotten so far.

The varieties that I bought at Walmart are Hens and Chicks,lady bird and the giant peony mix.

I think the hens and chicks might be papaver somniferum.I cant understand why Walmart would sell flowers that could get me a felony conviction

It is obvious that they are sold as seeds to grow with planting instructions and all.

Cant belive that Walmart almost got me tossed in prison for drug manufacturing

Do you think I should let them know that they are encouraging illegal activity

[Rance]

I just found these on the Alaska Craigslist. Himalayan Blue and white poppies. I'm gonna give those a try around the house (which is blue with white trim). Poppies do pretty well here in southcentral Alaska. I've never seen blue or white. Awesome!

[tcs1366]

there are many varieties of Poppies.

I have California poppies that are perennials, and I grew Black Peopny Poppies from seed this year ... i think they are annuals.... as most poppies are.

It does look like the Papaver somniferum are annuals. so I don't see a reason why they wont grow in CS.

OH.. btw - i dont think the poppy police will come and arrest you ;-)
... they are a beautiful flower.

[hcgCali]

They'll be lovely next to your hemp plants.

[BarbJ]

Hi Rance,

Your popy looks like what we saw in English gardens: Meconopsis betonicifolia.
While living in the UK, I fell in love with them and wanted to grow them hen we returned to the States. A fellow in BC sent me some seeds and I tried to grow them here in Charlotte, NC - no luck. Too hot and not a long enough cool growing season (i.e. similar to what's needed for spinach and broccoli) My seedlings kept dampening off as soon as it started to get warm. I suspect you'll have better luck in Alaska. Enjoy hem. They are gorgeous.

I was wondering the other day what garden flowers you grow up there. OOOPS don't mean to hijack the thread. I'll start a new one.

[Ellise]

I've bought papaver somniferum seeds in the past. They're sometimes called hens and chickens, other times breadbox (because they're the type of poppyseeds used on rolls). I don't know why they're sold if they're illegal to grow, but I have grown them.

By the way, in SC you should plant papaver somniferum or papaver rhoeas seeds in the fall. Just plant them where you want them to grow and leave them alone, they don't transplant well. I have some rhoeas (aka corn poppies, shirley poppies, flanders field poppies) that I planted last fall and they're blooming nicely right now in southeastern NC.

[paperhouse]

In NC, they use the red poppy as a roadside beautification plant. I believe they do that in Spartinburg/Greenville along I-85.

[ellie]

Some red poppies are not opium poppies. Neither are some of the white ones. I have, however, seen pink opium poppies growing clearly in view in one of the historic gardens in Charleston.

And some varieties of opium poppies do not contain much, if any, of the active ingredient needed to make usable opium.

How do I know? They're one of my favorite flowers. You'd need a lot of them to do any damage. But please don't do something stupid. We've lost enough of our freedoms already and don't need helicopters landing in our gardens and smashing out everything that resembles a questionable substance. These people are not that bright or subtle.