ORIENTAL POPPIES - The time to plant is now!

Oriental poppies are spring blooming flowers, with crepe-paper-like petals. The plants have lush, green foliage that dies down after blooming. After the blooms have finished blooming and the foliage starts to turn yellow, cut down to the ground. This time of year the green foliage reappears. Because of the spot they leave after bloom, plant something that will fill in the space--mums, asters, sun-loving annuals such as petunias, marigolds or daisies can fill in the void. They come in all sorts of shades of pink, red, orange, plum, and white. They are easy to propagate--just take a healthy leaf with the root attached.  I use a rooting hormone--just wet the root bottom and dip into the rooting powder. Plant, keeping moist, but not wet until the root is growing and viable. Poppies don't have many problems and need full sun. They shouldn't require dividing for 4-5 years, or until the crown is woody and the plant's blooms dwindle in size or numbers. They're not fragrant, but an arrangement of them can be spectacular.

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ORIENTAL POPPIES - Easy to grow and maintain

Oriental poppies in the spring garden

Royal Wedding

Harlem (reblooming)

Raspberry Queen

Ruffled Patty

ORIENTAL POPPIES are one of the easiest and problem free plants in my garden beds. These beautiful, crepe paper-like beauties only increase in beauty from year to year.  They are long-lived and tolerant in many growing conditions. Some of my favorites are pictured here--Goliath, Queen Alexander, Harlem, Miss Piggy, Royal Wedding, Ruffled Patty and Raspberry Queen.  They like evenly moist, but not wet soil, and full sun. Plant something close by, as after they've bloomed, their foliage yellows and dies out.  The empty place they leave can then accommodate other plants.  I have daylilies, lilies, zinnias and garden mums (plants that mature and bloom later in the season) planted in those areas.  In late summer/early fall, the beautiful bright green foliage starts to grow and forms a nice clump that stays through the fall and winter.  By early spring, a full poppy plant is ready for spring bloom. Raspberry Queen is 8" across--unbelievable!  Ruffled Patty and Miss Piggy are beautiful, cut-petaled varieties.  I have found them to be very hardy, pest-free and easy to grow.  Easy to propagate, just dig down and get a long piece of an outside stem, plant immediately, keeping soil moist, but not wet, until the plant root is established.  Little side shoots are always available and I find it's easier to replant these. Varieties vary in their size and height.  Some, when in full bloom, have long stems approaching 4-5 feet, while others bloom closer to the plant, at 2-3 feet. Poppies are definitely on my list of top 10 plants in my garden.  With about 20 or so of these gorgeous plants, the hardest thing about them is trying to figure out where I can plant more in my garden!

Miss Piggy

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