On Sun, 18 May 2003 22:38:35 +0100, Mike wrote:

~
~How long can/could a Poppy seed lay dormant in a piece of land and then
~all of a sudden germinate and grow?

Quite some time I seem to remember... they wait until the ground is
disturbed before they germinate, so I think it can be years. This is why
the poppy fields of WW 1 - the battles churned up the ground and up came
the dormant poppies.

This is an illuminating ref I found, searching for Flanders Poppy and
finding out more about why poppies for remembrance than I'd bargained for.
http://www.anzacday.org.au/education/tff/poppy.html

The interesting thing here is they say poppies need light to germinate, as
I'd expect. However
http://www.dulley.com/plant/a089.shtml
says they need darkness! Load of rubbish....

ah! gotcha!
http://www.arhomeandgarden.org/plant...cles/Poppy.asp

25 to 50 years....

There you go



--
jane

Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone,
you may still exist but you have ceased to live.
Mark Twain

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