growing poppies from seed

I have a number of good size, mature poppies in my yard in about half a dozen colors. Last year I gathered seed from some of the pods, and have started them in my greenhouse. I had good germination rates, but the stems are very spindly. The plants are about 2" high with large green leaves, and they look quite healthy. However, they are all falling over because the first inch of each stem from the ground on up is almost threadlike. Anybody have an idea what is going on here? (I can provide a picture if necessary.)

Poppies always make me think of In Flanders Fields...

Try a quick image search for damping off.  If the stem is discolored and thread-like, it may be that they have this fungal infection.  Perhaps too much water lately?  

Otherwise, if it is in a greenhouse, perhaps they could benefit from a little more breeze to become sturdier.  Plants need a little stress in their life to grow stronger, just like people.

I usually associate spindly with insufficient light.

I do not have good success transplanting poppies.  I direct seed them. Every time I direct seed they are lovely.  If I move or transplant them they are half as nice as it takes them forever to recover.  

I’m agreeing with all of the above although I wonder also too much heat?  Not enough air circulation which causes damping off…too much water causes spindly or too heavy a potting mix for seedlings results in too much water.

I agree with direct seeding advice. I just scattered a bunch of store bought culinary poppy seeds in a flower bed and got plenty of healthy plants and flowers.

It feels like not enough light and-or not enough wind.  Wind makes the stems stressed so they have to grow stronger.  It also prevents damping off where the plant sort of rotts alive.  It doesn't need much, just some sort of air flow.

The best luck I've had growing poppies is to plant the seeds this time of year where I want them to drown out some weeds.  Disturb the soil a bit where the seeds fall.  The seeds seem to overwinter well here.  But try both to see what works in your climate.

Poppies have established themselves at the community garden amd with a relatively high turnover of gardeners, many plots are often dug over.

The seeds will germinate quickly in spring and grow so well that they are almost like weeds, but oh such beautiful weeds that I struggle to pull up.

As others have pointed out, allowing them to overwinter in plots that have been lightly dug is a foolproof way to get them established.