so what would a field of blazing red poppies look like if photographed in B+W compared to Colour?

Colour can add warmth or coolness depending on the colour. Black and white doesn't. Its up to you to learn how to differentiate between what will work in B+W or Colour.
Colour is not a distraction but a pallete to be used just as is B+W. If you have an image that works in both then maybe it was not ideally suited to either.