PlantFiles: Oriental Poppy
Papaver orientale

My sister in Spokane WA gave me this poppy which I have planted in my garden in Olympia WA. It's growing well but shortly after it starts to bloom it rains and the leaves start turning black and curling up. Last year I removed the affected leaves as soon as I noticed them and cut the plant back to the ground once it quit blooming. It's doing the same thing again this year. I will try making a waterproof cover above it but would appreciate any better suggestions. It's one of my favorite plants so I don't want to lose it.

I planted oriental poppy two springs ago (2009) when I dug a small new garden plot in our lawn. I dug the bed deep and watered it consistently, which must be good, since last summer it didn't even go dormant. This spring it has many crowns that are competing for space above ground.

The most gorgeous oriental poppy is growing in our rock driveway; startling red, papery flowers with yellow centers. And, no, I didn't plant it there. I did plant some seeds in an adjacent flowerbed but none of those have made an appearance. (I'm finding that at 7500 feet, lots of things I plant from seed don't seem to show up till the following year--delightful little surprises!)

I'll be collecting the seed pods as they ripen, and trying to transplant this one after the other 12-13 buds open and fade.

I wouldn't do without these. They have a short, marvellous bloom season in mid June. Huge, crepe papery red petals with black blotches. I also have some white ones with purple blotches. In July the foliage dries up. It is good to have late blooming perennials or annuals nearby, like asters, to fill in the gap. Later when it is cool again, a foliage clump appears and overwinters.
They grow in full or part sun, good or poor soil, need moderate water in spring but none in summer. They reseed, but not too much. The seedlings dont transplant well.

There are two seriously different kinds of Oriental Poppies in American gardens. Most varieties are clumpers that have deep taproots and require good drainage and deep soils. A much smaller group of varieties is made up of turfers that spread through the top foot of even clay loam soils by means of stolons. As you might expect this second group survives conditions that kill the members of the first group pretty quickly. The most common of the turfers is an orange double, with no dark blotch at the base of the petal and a relatively small seed pod, that is frequently seen in Indiana as a broad bed of some considerable age. Plants that my Aunt Pearl set out in the 1950's continue to bloom. Later someone gave my mother a more attractive variety that bears single blossoms of a more intense coloring.

Impressive flowers . Did well from the first year, all roots did survive transplanting except one.


Starshine, which cultivar is blooming again in fall for you ?

While it took me a couple of years to figure out
I was transplanting poppies instead of lettuce, once I
got it straight, the poppies began coming.

They don't care much for transplanting, so they are best
grown where they are sown.

Gorgeous poppies appear in spring and though the
show is grand, it is rather short. Soon you are left
with a stand of ugly, nevertheless necessary stand
of dried pods, which make for an interesting arrangement.

Toss the poppy seeds or pods into the refrigerator
until fall and then combine the seeds with sand for
easy distribution in your garden for next year's blooms.

I plant more poppies every year and am always anxious
to see that first little light green growth in the soil on a cool
spring morning.

Karen Marie

This is one of my favorite flowers. The only downside is that they are hard to move. Transplant as very young plants for greater success.

My neighbor has these, and though in clay and totally neglected, they come back year after year looking beautiful. I have some planted from seed, but am waiting for them to bloom.

Cool temperatures aid germination of seeds. They resent transplanting.

In SE Michigan - Needs full sun - will bloom in June - die back totally and then start back up in the fall - this is a good time to take a division. Starts growing well in Spring. So beautiful when it blooms - people notice the beauty and comment all the time.

Oriental poppies like our cool, moist climate. they bloom here in mid June, but the foliage stays green all summer, unlike some of the hotter climates.

This flower also blooms again in the fall. I like the surprise setting, when everything is calming down and getting ready for winter, here is this amazing dinner plate sized flower bursting up with colour!

Large, silky flowers feature black blotches at the base of each petal. Plants bloom profusely in May and June, the year after the seed is sown. Foliage dies back in midsummer, reappears in fall or the following spring.