Oh, the Sunny California Poppy!

Have you ever grown Poppies?

For several years now, I've admired California Poppies (Eschscholzia californica) and Papaver Poppies. I've wanted to add them to my own garden--not on a massive scale, but as highlights of color near the house. I don't have much sun here, and I tend to grow sun-loving ornamentals and annuals in bright corners and in my small potager garden.

While I haven't tried Papavers yet (stay tuned), until recently I had no luck with California Poppies. I tried starting the seeds in pots early in the growing season, and when that didn't work I sprinkled the seeds along the edge of the potager. But a combination of known and unknown factors prevented their growth.

The potager is on the west side of the house. It gets several hours of indirect light, and then several more hours of strong, afternoon baking sun. The Zinnias and Cosmos love it. But all I got from sprinkling Poppy seeds there was a few tiny, feathery seedlings that disappeared soon after they sprouted. I'm guessing chipmunks and/or robins were responsible--digging around or eating the seeds and/or the seedlings. Or perhaps the seedlings got lost in the mulch and in competition with other plants.

Anyway...in late winter/early spring this year I tried a different technique:

I sowed the Poppy seeds directly into a rectangular planter box, and put the planter in the sunroom in March. I figured that would give them an early start, and protect them from critters.

As the weather warmed, I placed the pot in our mini cold frame to acclimate them to outdoor conditions. Then, after the last frost, I moved them to the potager.

I placed wind spinners around them to dissuade the critters from digging in the pot (so far, so good).

Because they're in a planter, I can easily move them around to try new locations. Fingers crossed they'll continue to thrive and bloom over there. If they struggle, we'll adapt.



The foliage is so lacy and fun. Depending on the light, sometimes it has a slight blue cast, and with hot weather it yellows.



The buds are fun, too!

And then the flowers!

I'm thrilled that I've finally had success with these pretty plants bearing beautiful, sunny flowers and lacy foliage! Maybe next year I'll try Papavers!

(Check out this fun, time-lapse video of California Poppies growing from planted seed to flower and back to seed.)