Perennial Poppies

Southern California gardeners, seeing gorgeous photographs in books, have been trying to grow oriental poppies for years. These brightly colored, huge-flowered poppies are perennials and are reasonably easy in cold climates, but not so here. They will grow and they may even flower after a few years in the ground, but the flowers are often on such short stems that they bloom inside the foliage.

Last year, there was hope that a new kind of Oriental poppy might grow well in Southern California, and this year we can report that there are indeed oriental poppies we can grow--a special strain developed right here in California. This strain came from crosses between a California perennial poppy and an Oriental, and it resulted in poppies called Minicaps.

They bloomed in my own garden most of last summer and are blooming again right now, with flowers six to seven inches across. Do not expect a mass of flowers at any one time but there are nearly always a few in flower. Individual flowers only stay open two or three days, but they are quite a spectacle during that short time. The fuzzy, slightly gray foliage makes a mound about two feet by two feet and flowers are on stems about three to four feet tall.

Unlike some perennials, these should not be cut to the ground for winter, but just left alone. You may dig the plants up and move them in winter as I did, so they could be in a sunnier spot. They like lots of sun.

Minicaps will be available at the Huntington Botanic Garden Plant Sale on May 21. Tickets may be obtained by sending a stamped, self-addressed legal envelope to Huntington Plant Sale, 1151 Oxford St., San Marino, Calif. 91108. You can also order them directly from the grower who offers a color catalogue for a 25-cent stamp. Write to Mohn’s, P.O. Box 2301, Atascadero, Calif. 93423.