Oriental poppy
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| Papaver orientale (L.) |
The Oriental poppy (Papaver orientale) is a perennial poppy of the genus Papaver.
Aside from its natural brilliant orange-scarlet, since the later 19th century selective breeding for gardens has created a range of colors from clean white with eggplant-black blotches ("Barr's White" is the standard against which other whites are measured), through clear true pinks and salmon pinks to a deep maroon.
Oriental poppies throw up a mound of handsome, finely cut hairy foliage in spring. After flowering, the foliage dies away entirely, an adaptation to survival in the summer drought of Central Asia. Late-developing plants should be planted nearby, to fill the developing gap. Fresh leaves appear with autumn rains.
[edit] Gardening
Sow seeds after potential of frost when soil has thoroughly warmed. The average temperature should be approximately 70 degrees F for planting. Oriental Poppies do not handle transplanting well. Germination period is 10-20 days. Be careful not to over water. In the late summer, the oriental poppy becomes dormant. Protect the plant in the winter with mulching. The flower originated in Asia with a hardiness zone of 3-8 average. It usually thrives in light calcarous soil and in full sun or part shade.
Cut the stem of the flower off if you want a second flower unless you want to keep the seeds.
