Cormaic's Garden - Plants - Oriental Poppy

Garden Layout - Plants - Oriental Poppy
Papaver orientalis - this is a heirloom plant. Mrs Taz's late Uncle Jim brought the original plant back with him from a tour of duty with the army in Northern India in the late 1940's, and grew it in his own Lancashire garden for many years. That plant grew and grew, until it's spread was nearly 1.8m.
We had a tiny back yard at our first home, and Jim gave us an offset from the parent plant to grow in a pot, and so, this plant has been with us since the mid 1980's, and came with us when we moved to Borlochs Hall in 1991. It has been repotted a couple of times since then, and is only placed onm the kitchen bed patio area in the spring. Once the flowering is over, it is moved to a discreet corner somewhere out of the way.
It is a floppy plant, and really needs supports if it is to look its best. The foliage is cut and bristly, and the flower heads appear in late May. It is a very thirsty plant, and has to be watered every other day when we are blessed with the sun. The flowers are HUGE, with a diameter of at least 150mm, and there are usually between 10 and 15 of them. The tissue-like red petals surround a deep purple centre, with purple stamens that are dripping with pollen. Each flower last for about 3 -5 days before falling and leaving the large 'pepperpot' seed heads on the flower stems. The foliage then starts to die down, and the whole plant becomes straggly and unkempt, although the seed heads remain upright.