How to Grow the California Poppy (Eschscholzia)

The California Poppy is a lovely flower that can add brilliant color to your garden with little fuss. Here is some information on how to grow the California Poppy (Eschscholzia).

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. 
   California Poppies are decorative.

   Native to the dry chaparral in California, the California poppy has fine, feathery light blue-green foliage and big colorful orange-yellow flowers. In the wild there are larger and smaller varieties, but these have been cultivated to produce showy plants in a variety of colors. Highly decorative, the California Poppy makes a wonderful flower for the garden. Although it is a short-lived perennial, the Eschscholzia is usually grown as an annual – especially in areas where winter offers cold freezes.

2. 
   Close up of the standard California Poppy (Eschscholzia)

   California Poppies can be found in reds, oranges, yellows, pinks, corals and whites. Some varieties have fluted petals and others smooth. There are large-growing varieties that will reach 2’ tall and smaller ones that stay at 8” – 10” in height. There are even double-flowered cultivars with twice the usual number of petals.

3. Keeping in mind the native environment where the Eschscholzia evolved will give you clues about what these plants like best. Grow them in full sun with the best drainage they can get. They will not grow well in wet soil or shade. The California Poppy can live on low water and will tolerate extreme heat. Although they grow on lean soils, they will grow fast and lush on more nutritious soils. If they are grown as annuals it will not matter that they will grow too fast and exhaust themselves with the rich soil. They will not need to store energy for a future years’ growth as they might where they are expected to re-grow the following year.

4. Use California Poppies to fill flower gardens with bright color. You can use them as bed edgings or clumps of color, but beware they will fade out at the end of the season leaving an empty space to be filled.

5. You can grow the California Poppy easily from seed or buy growing plants. If you live in a chaparral environment, sprinkle the seed from the autumn through the winter months, ideally just before rain. This will allow them to grow sufficiently during the cold months so they are ready to bloom by early spring. In cooler climates you can start them early indoors or in a cold frame. Otherwise, it’s best to buy plants already started and pot them out in the springtime.

Resources

• Landscape design and gardening information
• eHow Spring

[goodselfme]

on 4/24/2009 thank you for telling me how to grow California poppy.

[sonni57]

on 4/24/2009 Thanks for the good instructions on growing California poppys.