PlantFiles: Blue Poppy
Meconopsis grandis

If Rhododendrons do well in your yard, you can grow these beauties.

They are succeptible to crown rot. In ther native lands in the Himalayas, they are blanketed in snow all winter. If they are not well drained, a film of water on the soil surface can freeze and damage the crown.

Remove the top inch of soil around the crown of the plants and fill with sharp sand, pumice or perlite to prevent a film of water from forming.

We Alaskans are so lucky to have such fabulous results growing these wonderful poppies! My plants are coming into their 3rd season and have been producing beautifully thus far. As shown in the photo above, they are striking against a weathered rustic fence.

Meconopsis do well in our cool damp climate. My poppy did not bloom the last two years, but put out many blooms this summer after I thinned out the plants around it. Though I have successfully germinated the seed, the tiny plants tend to rot if kept too moist. This fall I plan to try direct sowing them in the ground to germinate next spring.