Poppy

Poppies can be either annual or perennial, but here we will discuss the annual types. The opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) has been known for thousands of years and was historically used as a painkiller but also grown for the tasty seeds, which were added to baking such as breads and muffins and cakes. The gorgeous flowers are bright red, single, and usually stained with black on the inside. Plants grow up to 2 ft. tall with distinctive, blue-green foliage and interesting seed capsules. They grow quickly, flower beautifully in early to mid summer, then set seed and die.

Double flowered forms with enormous, very double blooms soon came to be known as “peony poppies”, for obvious reasons. Although red is the traditional colour, there are now forms with white, purple, pink, or mauve flowers. ‘Lauren’s Grape’ is particularly outstanding. Some of them are so dark purple they are nearly black! 

Poppies want a sunny site with average, well drained soil and reasonably good moisture. They can handle dry soil but the plants will be smaller and the flowers not nearly as full as they should be. Sow the seed on the surface where they are to flower and keep them well watered. They will self sow delightfully all over the garden, and they are easy to pull where they are unwanted.

Shirley poppies (Papaver rhoeas) are European and named for the vicar of Shirley, England, who worked on breeding these plants for decades. While red is the normal colour, they can produce pink, white, or bi-coloured blossoms on rare occasions. The vicar grew these in his garden, and very carefully selected seeds from pink, white, and mauve forms over many years. The bright, easy, and care-free plants known as Shirley poppies are easy to grow in any sunny, well drained site. Care is the same as for the opium poppies. While these were very popular 50 years ago, they have largely disappeared from common use. Many named selections, often with romantic names such as ‘Falling in Love’ or ‘Choir of Angels’ have been introduced.