Poppy

With their glorious crepe-paper-like blooms in a wide variety of brilliant hues, annual poppies add a ton of color to the garden. They're easy to grow and often self-seed, allowing them to appear year after year. It's best to grow them from seed directly in the ground as most do not transplant well. They work well in cottage-style landscapes scattered among late spring-blooming perennials.

Light:

Sun

Zones:

2-11

Plant Type:

Annual

Plant Height:

1-4 feet tall

Plant Width:

6-12 inches wide

Landscape Uses:

Containers, Beds & Borders

Special Features:

Flowers, Drought Tolerant

Top Varieties

---

Breadseed poppy

(Papaver somniferum) is the largest annual poppy, reaching more than 3 feet tall. In summer it bears flowers in shades of pink, lilac, mauve, red, or white that are followed by large seed pods that are good for dried arrangements. Use the dried seeds in baking, too.
view >

Corn poppy

(Papaver rhoeas) grows up to 3 feet tall and 1 foot wide. In summer it bears brilliant orange-red flowers, sometimes marked with a black base on petals. It is also called field poppy, a reference to its tendency to naturalize in open fields.
view >

Iceland poppy

(Papaver croceum) is a short-lived perennial usually grown as an annual. It features yellow, white, orange, or pink flowers in spring and summer. It grows 1 foot tall and is often also called Papaver nudicaule. Zones 2-8
view >

Mother of Pearl poppy

(Papaver rhoeas 'Mother of Pearl') is a variety of corn poppy also sometimes called 'Fairy Wings'. It produces delicate pink or lilac flowers.
view >

Peony Flowered poppy

(Papaver somniferum 'Peony Flowered') is a breadseed poppy variety with large, double, frilly flowers in pink, salmon, purple, maroon, or white.
view >

Shirley poppies

(Papaver rhoeas Shirley Series) are selections of corn poppy with single, semi-double, or double blooms in shades of yellow, pink, rose, orange, or red. Many sport bicolor or picotee petals.
view >