Seed

• Poppy seeds are small and quick to germinate. They need only a dusting of compost or topsoil covering them and very light moisture to encourage germination. If planted at the right time of year, after danger of frost has passed, poppy seeds should germinate within two to two and a half weeks. If conditions are not right for poppies to germinate, they can remain dormant for up to six years before sprouting.
  
  

Basal Rosette

• Young poppies begin their life as a short cluster of leaves tightly bound together, resembling a small cabbage plant. As the weather becomes appropriate and the poppy continues to grow, a single stalk emerges from within the rosette with a single bud at the top.
  
  

Flower

• The bud which shoots up will reach up 2 to 3 feet before producing a large flower, 3 to 4 inches across. This flower may come in a number of colors, but all have a bowl shaped, crinkled texture to them. Flowers usually only last 24 hours before dropping to make way for the seed pod, though some species, such as the Papaver somniferum, have flowers that may last up to two weeks.
  
  

Seed Pod

• After flowers have been fertilized they quickly drop and a seed pod begins to develop. The seed pod takes approxomately two weeks to develop fully. After the seed pod is developed it takes another three weeks or so for the seeds to dry within the capsule. The seed pod will slowly deteriorate at this point, eventually releasing the seeds into the soil. If you intend to harvest the seed, shake the seed pod a few weeks after it has developed. If you can hear seeds rattling within the pod, they are ready to collect. Simply open the pod and pour out the seeds.