Stefan Buczacki and Terry Walton answer all your gardening questions
Garry Arbu , West Midlands
Stefan says: I'm assuming you're referring to the Asian blue-flowered species. They're not the easiest of plants to grow and starting from seed may not be the best option. It's important to remember two things about them. Firstly, they must have a moist, organic, slightly acidic soil in light shade and if you can't provide these conditions you'll always struggle. And secondly, many of the most attractive species, although perennial, are short-lived and die after flowering – a condition called monocarpic.
If you're growing them from seed, bear in mind they need light to germinate so should be sown on the surface of the compost, covered with only the thinnest layer of Vermiculite. Many gardeners find they germinate reasonably well, but then lose the seedlings, which are vulnerable to damage, when pricked out.
Because of this it makes sense to raise them in modules and sow up to half a dozen seeds in each, treating the clump as one plant when you pot it on.
I think it's better and more reliable if you let a professional nursery do the hard work and then buy plants, taking care to prepare the planting position thoroughly and water occasionally with a potash-rich liquid feed. The species you'll find most commonly is the brilliantly blue-flowered Meconopsis baileyi although my favourite is 'Slieve Donard', which unfortunately is one of the varieties that doesn't produce seeds and can only be propagated by division.
Meconopsis belong to the poppy family and remember that we've a lovely yellow-flowered native species (although there are orange variants, too) – the Welsh poppy, Papaver cambrica. It's infinitely easier to grow; to the extent that it has become more of a weed in my garden!