The Oriental influence in home and garden decoration has resulted in the increase in the popularity of the Oriental poppy. To meet the demand, there are hybrids of enchanting colors which, in spite of their delicate appearance, hold their own against wind and rain.
Today you can have, in addition to the old-fashioned brilliant orange ones, new varieties in bright orange, pink, salmon, and claret shades – even pure white ones. The tissue-thin cuplike flowers measure 5 to 8 inches across, and stem length varies, according to variety, from 18 to 44 inches. Low ones are delightful in the front of flower borders; tall ones are splendid for background positions.
Flowering starts in May or June, and when the flowers have passed, the foliage dries and disappears for the summer. Growth usually begins in early fall, and in warm climates the rosettes of fernlike leaves remain green over winter, continuing growth in the spring. In the North, the fall-produced leaves are killed by frost, but new growth appears again in spring.
Oriental poppies are usually planted in late summer or fall, but pot-grown plants, wherever available, may be planted in early spring. Whenever you plant (and some of the best varieties are obtainable only from catalog specialists in late summer and fall), give Oriental poppies a deep, moderately rich, well-drained soil, to prevent the fleshy roots from decaying. And choose a location where they will have sun or light shade.
Before planting, dig the soil deep, then space the plants (crowns) 12 inches apart, and cover with 3 inches of soil. The plants should remain undisturbed for several years to develop their full beauty. The need for dividing and transplanting will be indicated, in the years ahead, by small flowers and matted growth.
Culture consists of keeping weeds down, feeding with any good bulb or potato fertilizer each spring, and watering in dry spells during their growing period. In the North, mulch the plants with marsh hay or straw after the ground freezes in fall.
Since Oriental poppies die down in summer, it is wise to keep a label by each plant. Knowing gardeners also interplant them with quick-growing but not dense annuals, such as phlox, stock, bachelor’s button, and snapdragon, which will fill in the bare spaces. Others combine perennials with them – kinds whose foliage remains after the poppy’s dies away.
Perennials that bloom with Oriental poppies and are often used with them are peony, bearded iris, heuchera, delphinium. dianthus, foxglove, painted daisy, bleeding heart. Another possibility is gray-leaved artemisia, the well-loved dusty miller. Its billows of qray foliage, so pretty and cool-looking in the summer border, nicely camouflage the spaces left by the poppies.
