Each year in my West Virginia garden, I am amazed anew at the splendor of the Oriental poppy display. And visitors, seeing for the first time these giant poppies blooming, gaze in wonder at the magnificence of the flowers, invariably they exclaim.
“We can’t believe it. These poppies can’t be real.” But real they are, though unbelievable, with 4-foot stems topped by deceptively fragile-looking flowers 10 to 12 inches across.
And the colors! Luminous shell and blush pinks, apricots, sparkling begonia and watermelon reds, cerise, rose, rich starlets and crimsons, mahogany and luscious crushed-raspberry shades in single and double form—all a far cry from the harsh orange-red of the original Papaver orientale.
And equally unbelievable to visitors is the fact that without special attention these poppies flower on virtually indestructible plants.
When Should Oriental Poppies Be Planted?
Few other herbaceous perennials resent disturbance during their growing season more than Oriental poppies. This season covers a long period from October, when active growth begins, through winter and until flowering time.
For this reason, when the plants are completely dormant, August and September are the proper planting months. Though spring planting is sometimes suggested, it is never entirely satisfactory, even when pot-grown stock is used.
At this time, plants are at the height of growth in preparation for a May and June pageant of bloom.
No Accidents Are These Hybrid Poppies
Almost 30 years ago, Arthur E. Curtis of Cincinnati, Ohio, became interested in cross-breeding perennials. Along with his experiments with Oriental poppies, he did some fine work with hardy asters (the popular pink variety Suavivott is one of his introductions) and chrysanthemums.
So strong was his fascination for plant breeding that he decided to devote his full time to growing and selling from his famed Curtis Gardens in Cincinnati.
Since Oriental poppy breeding was of paramount interest, he decided to concentrate his knowledge and skill on developing sturdier poppies with larger blooms in a wide range of colors and hues.
Because of his many spectacular varieties, Mr. Curtis is today considered the world’s foremost breeder of Oriental poppies. While he has relinquished Curtis Gardens’s management, he and his equally proficient wife are constantly working with poppies.
Mr. Curtis feels that his more than 6,000 cross-bred seedlings show promise of “great things to come.” Since Mr. Curtis is an artist of note, his knowledge of color, texture, and form has been of great help in making variety selections.
Charles Baumgardner Enthusiast
Charles Baumgardner has shared the enthusiasm for, and the mechanics of, poppy breeding with Mr. Curtis for several years. As a result, from his West Coast gardens have come several fine new poppies exceptional in form and new in tone.
With more than a million hand-crossed seedlings growing in his garden, Mr. Baumgardner is expecting some fabulous results.
He is working, as is Mr. Curtis, on producing poppies edged with different colors. Previously, these edged varieties have not remained “fixed” but have reverted to a single color.
Interesting edged varieties hybridized by Mr. Baumgardner will be available this year (Walter Marx Gardens, Boring, Oregon).
The color combinations are unique, and the plants have been tested over a long period so that growers may rely upon patterns and colors remaining “fixed.”
The late-flowering PINNACLE is scarlet, bordered white with ruffled flowers borne on stiff Stems. SPRINGTIME has glistening white petals “trimmed” with a narrow border of warm pink, giving a very dainty effect.
Plants are medium in height and bushy. LUCKY is an enchanting cup-shaped white, edged with vivid orange.
Growing Curtis Poppies
Since I have had the privilege and pleasure of growing Curtis poppies as they were released, I am familiar with their growth characteristics, time of flowering (which covers about 6 weeks), and color variations. While my garden boasts only about sixty plants, many varieties are represented.
Apparently, red in many shades predominates in Oriental poppies. Next in number are pinks in pastels, lively hues, and deep rose shades.
Rare and cherished are such oddities as mahogany, raspberry, purple, semi- or fully double, and edged varieties.
Curtis Poppies Varieties
The most brilliant red is probably CURTIS GIANT FLAME. No other poppy can equal it for sheer dramatic effect. The stature of the plants, the prodigious size, and the substance of the bonfire-red flowers are dazzling to behold.
Stunning, too, are BUCKEYE RED and CARMEN—very deep and rich in tone with flowers almost as large as those of GIANT FLAME.
Always liked for its distinctive shining rose-red color is MAY CURTIS. It is early flowering and extra-long lasting in the garden.
G. I. JOE is the latest red to bloom. The brilliant tones do not hint at orange, making a pleasing companion for almost any other early summer flower. RED CRINKLES is a beauty with deeply crinkled petals of a glowing red.
MANCHU’S FAN always causes comments when the long green bracts hold the opening flower in a perfect fan shape.
ARTHUR CURTIS is said to be the deepest red to date, displays enormous flowers on tall stiff stems, and is excellent for cutting.
One of my favorite red poppies is JESSIE CURTIS. The plant is very bushy, and the many flowers on 18-inch stems appear at one time so that the effect is of a bouquet of mahogany-red flowers. To obtain the richness of color, the plants need light shade.
The effect is stunning with the deep blue of Chinese delphinium against a Spirea Vanhouttei.
Among the six new poppies introduced by Wayside Gardens of Mentor, Ohio, a few years ago, I especially like their SOUVENIR, a blazing red with a rich copper overlay, and SURPRISE, a vermilion red with great appeal.
Pink Poppies
A pink poppy is the first one to bloom in my garden, generally about mid-May. This is GLOWING ROSE (Curtis), a vibrant watermelon pink of great size on tall stems. (Its June-flowering color counterpart is ROSE GLOW.)
DOROTHY S. ROWE (Curtis) is coming next into flower, a vivid yet soft cerise. It is valued for harmonizing with other flowers in the border and for cutting since the wiry stems carry many long-lasting flowers.
Unlike any other pinks I have seen are two Wayside Gardens poppies—SONATE, with the warm rosy hue of a PAUL NEYRON, rose, and SALOME, a little lighter tone. Both are a valuable addition to the list of pinks.
A personal favorite is CURTIS GIANT SALMON PINK. While the flowers are not as large as several other “giants,” their warm, luminous pink hue is so lovely, rich texture, and so freely produced that few other poppies can outrank them in loveliness.
Pastel Pink Poppies
Pastel pink poppies, as delicately colored as a sea shell and with the same luminous texture, are collectors’ items.
SPRING MORN (Curtis) is a jewel of a flower of very clear flesh pink with no dark blotch to mar the exquisite tone.
SWEETHEART, another self-toned poppy, is precisely described by Mr. Curtis as the “color of a strawberry Soda.”
CURTIS GIANT FLESH PINK is a stately plant and lovely flower. In semi-shade (which all pastels require to preserve their tone), this poppy is a soft light pink with a faint overlay of lavender, and the bloom is immense.
Unique Curtis Pink Poppies
Unique among the pinks is the dwarf LITTLE DARLING (Curtis)—a begonia-pink. It bears myriads of rather small flowers on 18-inch plants and makes a gay spot of color when used in the foreground of the border or the rock garden.
Mr. Baumgardner’s PINK CORAL has proved to be his most popular introduction, and deservedly so. The flower color is fresh and clear, the petals displaying a lacquered texture, unlike any other poppy.
PEONY, another Baumgardner introduction, is a lustrous semi-double salmon pink, and LAVENDER GIANT is similar to Curtis’s GIANT FLESH PINK but with more lavender.
The most unusual poppy in my garden is SUNGOD (Wayside). While listed as “Saturn-red with a golden glow,” for me, it is a bright gold, the color of burnished brass. It needs to be segregated from other flowers, but against a background of evergreens, it is stunning.
Growing Oriental Poppies Is A Simple Matter
They will thrive in well-drained soil containing plenty of humus and should have a sunny location. Neither diseases nor insects are generally troublesome.
These plants like plenty of room to grow, so they should not be set too close to shrubbery or other vigorous perennials.
They like a liberal mulch of salt hay or other water-shedding material about them in late winter to prevent the roots from heaving and in summer to keep down weeds, which must be hand pulled since hoeing is likely to cut off the poppy roots.
Applying compost or old manure in early spring is beneficial, but fresh manure should be avoided.
After flowering, cut stems to the ground but leave foliage to mature, after which a slight tug will remove the browned leaves.
In a mixed border, it is best to screen poppies with other perennials, such as larkspur and gypsophila, to hide the plants during their dormant period.
Standard Planting Procedure
The standard planting procedure is as follows:
- Dig a hole 3” inches deeper than the root length and loosen the soil below that.
- Hold the plant upright with the crown 2” to 3” inches below the surface of the soil (if the crown is left, uncovered plants will not survive).
- Fill in the soil to the level of crown and water thoroughly.
- After the water is absorbed, fill in above the crown to ground level with dry soil. The foliage will push up through the soil.
- Weekly watering after setting is advised, though frequent watering is not needed after plant growth starts unless the season is exceptionally dry.
Proper Planting Time
Proper planting time is August and September, although it can be done as late as mid-October, when old stock is in leaf and resetting or division is planned.
Many gardeners feel it is easier to divide plants at this time as the foliage marks the location of plants, lessening the danger of breaking roots or trampling plants.
However, if roots are broken, the pieces may be planted, always taking care that the hair-like roots point downward, and new plants will result. Division of stock or root plantings always produces plants true to color.
Growing Oriental poppies from seed, while a novel and interesting occupation, rarely gives flowers like the parent plant.
As a cut flower, Oriental poppies make a beautiful display. Cut buds when half open, at least 2″ inches of the stems over a flame, and then plunge them in cool water. Treated this way, flowers can be kept fresh and lovely for five to six days.
44659 by Martha Haislip