Description of the poppy plant, recommendations for planting and care in a personal plot, how to reproduce, possible diseases and pests when growing in the garden, interesting notes, species and varieties.
Poppy (Papaver) belongs to the genus of plants belonging to the Poppy family (Papaveraceae). The territory of its distribution falls on lands with a temperate and subtropical climate, it is occasionally found in cold USDA zones. At the same time, poppies prefer to settle in places with arid soil, such as steppes and semi-deserts, as well as in deserts and on dry mountain slopes with a rocky substrate. If we talk about the number of these plants, then there are about 75 varieties in Russia and neighboring countries, but most of them are found in the Caucasian and Central Asian regions. According to some reports, the total number of species has already approached a hundred.
| Family name | Poppy |
| Growing period | Long-term, one-year or two-year |
| Vegetation form | Herbaceous |
| Breeding method | Seed and vegetative (root or green cuttings) for perennial species |
| Landing period | Sowing seeds in the fall or in February, but after stratification it is possible in the middle of spring |
| Landing rules | The distance between the bushes of annual species is left at least 25 cm |
| Priming | Fertile and loose with good drainage characteristics, loamy or sandy loam |
| Soil acidity values, pH | 6, 5-7 - neutral or 5-6 - slightly acidic |
| Lighting degree | Bright lighting, sunny location |
| Humidity parameters | Moisturizing is necessary, only in case of severe drought |
| Special care rules | Waterlogging of the soil is undesirable |
| Height and length values of shoots | 0.45m to 1.2m |
| Inflorescences or type of flowers | Single flowers of large size, occasionally in paniculate inflorescences |
| Flower color | White, pink, red, yellow, as well as purple, from very pale to almost black-purple tones |
| Flowering period | May-July for three weeks |
| Decorative time | Summer |
| Application in landscape design | Flowerbeds, flower beds, rockeries and rock gardens, single plantings |
| USDA zone | 4–8 |
According to experts, the poppy got its name in Latin thanks to the term in Greek "povas", which means "milk", since the cloudy and milky-like juice released when any part of the plant is broken resembles it very much. Well, in Russian, this representative of the flora began to be called "poppy" because of the pre-Slavic word "magh" meaning "to grind", since the seeds were very small in size.
Among the varieties of poppy, there are both annual and biennial species, and those that can grow for more years. Their growth form is herbaceous, while usually they are characterized by a branched stem, but in rare cases, plants are devoid of a stem at all. Height indicators directly depend on the species and can vary from 45 cm to 120 cm. When the stems are broken, juice is released, the color of which, by mistake, is considered a milky color, but in fact its color is not only whitish, but also yellow or orange. The outlines of the leaf plates with a dissection, once, twice and thrice-pinnate. The surface of the leaves may be bare, but often it has a hairy-bristly coating. The color of the leaves is herbaceous, but due to the hairs it becomes grayish-green. The leaves are arranged in the next order, sometimes they can grow oppositely.
Of course, poppy is prized for its flowers and fruits. From the buds that open from May to July, large flowers are formed. Flowering takes up to three weeks. The buds, as a rule, are crowned singly by elongated flower-bearing stems, but if the species is stemless, then the buds are attached to pedicels devoid of bracts. Only in some species does the formation of paniculate inflorescences occur.
The color of the petals can be very diverse, this includes white and pink, red and yellow, as well as purple, which goes from very pale, lilac tones to an almost black-crimson color scheme. There are species in which the flowers can have a snow-white or bright yellow hue. A large number of stamens can be seen in the flower, which have thin filaments or they are characterized by a club-shaped expansion at the top.
Insects usually pollinate poppy flowers, but self-pollination is also possible. The fruit of the poppy is a box filled with a large number of small seeds. Its shape is in the form of a shortened cylinder, but it often takes on a clavate, oblong or obovate shape, sometimes it can look like a ball. The capsule is usually sessile or may suddenly taper at the base into a shortened stalk. Inside there are numerous plates, between which the seeds are located. When ripe, the seeds are grayish-black in color. In nature, when the capsule is fully ripe, it bursts sharply and the seed material is ejected over long distances. When the box is open, the seeds are poured out of it by the wind, like salt from a salt shaker. The germination capacity of poppy seeds remains high for 3-4 years.
Poppy is a picky plant and growing it in a garden will not be difficult even for an inexperienced grower. At the same time, there are many options for how to decorate flower beds and other flower beds with bright flowers.
Poppy care, recommendations for growing on a personal plot
- Landing place. To enjoy the rapid and lush flowering of poppy bushes, it is recommended to plant them in a flowerbed, fully illuminated by the sun's rays. This will also contribute to the ripening of large boll fruits. Since in nature, poppy grows on dry soils, you should not plant it on too wet soil or where there is close groundwater.
- Poppy soil picking up will not be a problem, since he will be happy with any garden substrate, only so that the latter has looseness and high drainage, and is rich in nutrients. For this, compost (bone meal) and river sand can be added to the soil. The acidity of the soil is preferable to normal with pH 6, 5-7 or slightly acidic pH 5-6. It has been observed that loam or sandy loam is best suited.
- Sowing poppy. Usually, sowing seeds is one of the main ways to get such a flowering plant. Seed material is placed directly into the soil, while the sowing time should be before winter, so that as soon as the soil thaws in spring, young shoots appear. If sowing is carried out in annual varieties, then it is recommended to roll up to 25 cm between them, for perennial poppies it is better to do more. When the seeds are purchased in a specialized store, they are ready for sowing, but those collected on their own assume pre-sowing treatment - stratification, when the seed is kept in the cold (at 0-5 degrees of heat) for a long time (a month or more). The bottom shelf of the refrigerator can be such a place. After that, sowing can be carried out in the spring. But if stratification is natural, then seeds are sown in areas with mild winters in late autumn or February. Then the seeds are frozen in the soil. Poppy seeds that have not undergone stratification germinate very poorly; the development of seedlings obtained from them also lags behind. To make planting easier, the seeds can be mixed with fine sand in a ratio of 1:10. The soil is loosened to a depth of at least 3 cm and the resulting seed is distributed over its surface. After that, the crops are lightly sprinkled on top with soil. You should not sow poppy seeds in rows, since they practically will not stay in the location where they were placed. After sowing, watering is carried out and in the future it is recommended to keep the soil in a moderately moist state. Almost 8-10 days after the spring sowing, the first poppy sprouts will appear and you will need to thin them out. This is necessary to ensure that each plant has sufficient space to grow and receive nutrients to the fullest. The distance between the seedlings should be at least 15–20 cm. In this case, flowering can be expected after 3–3, 5 months after the sowing has been carried out and this process takes 4–6 weeks.
- Watering also does not pose a problem when growing poppy, as it tolerates drought well. Only if such hot periods, devoid of precipitation, are delayed, then the soil should be moistened.
- Fertilizers for poppies, they are generally not introduced, since in nature they grow on rather poor soils. However, if you want to get a lush flowering, then it is worth mixing the soil when digging in the autumn with organic or mineral fertilizers. They can be compost (humus) or a complete mineral complex, for example, Fertika or Kemira-Universal.
- General recommendations for care. It is required, as with growing any horticultural crop, to loosen the soil after rains and weed out weeds. In order not to perform such actions often, you should mulch the substrate around the poppy bushes. Perennial species do not require shelter for the winter.
- Collection of poppy seeds. They begin to collect poppy boxes when all the leaves of the plant have already withered and turned yellow. Then the color of the box turns brown, which means that it is completely dry. If you look at it, you can see small holes between the cap and the rest of it. At the same time, the seeds have a dark gray color, which can reach almost black.
- Post-flowering poppy care. When an annual species is grown, such plants must be removed in the fall. If desired, you can increase the duration of flowering, then it is recommended to remove the fruit-boxes after they have just begun to form. If the testes are not removed, then in the springtime many sprouts will appear in this place, which were obtained by self-seeding. With the arrival of autumn, it is necessary to clear the place of poppy cultivation from the remains of bushes, the soil is dug up. When growing perennial poppy species, after flowering is completed, the decorativeness of the plant falls, and its entire above-ground part must be cut. The stems are cut to ground level. Usually, perennial poppies are not covered, but if the winter can be snowless and frosty, then the bushes are covered with dried foliage or covered with spruce branches.
- The use of poppy in landscape design. Because of their lush bloom, such flower bushes can look great both in the form of single plantings and in classic flower beds, they are also beautiful in rockeries. At the same time, you can design both natural gardens and models with streams, flower beds in a rustic and Scandinavian style. Cornflowers and decorative flax, delicate bells and carnations, as well as lupins and lilies will be good neighbors for poppy seeds. You can also use brighter garden flowers - peonies, irises, daylilies and lilies.
See also the rules for planting and caring for Galanthus when growing in the garden.
How to breed poppy?
Since there are annual and perennial varieties, for the former, the seed method of reproduction will be the best, the second, in addition to this, is suitable for vegetative - rooting of root and green cuttings.
- Reproduction of poppy seeds. In this case, sowing is carried out directly into the open ground and shows excellent germination. But it was also noticed that if you grow poppy seedlings, then it will not be able to transfer the transplant. For perennial poppy species, there is the possibility of growing seedlings, when the seeds are sown at the end of winter in seedling boxes filled with peat-sandy soil. In this case, transplanting to a flower bed is carried out only when a pair of true leaf plates unfold on the seedling. Annual species reproduce well by self-seeding.
- Poppy propagation by cuttings. In late summer or early spring, perennial poppy species grow lateral shoots (daughter rosettes), which are used as cuttings for subsequent reproduction. Such sockets are carefully separated in the spring or summer period and planted on a seedling bed (school). After a couple of weeks, the cuttings develop root processes, but the seedlings will still need to be grown for at least 1-2 years. If we talk about the variety of oriental poppy (Papaver orientale), then it is recommended to plant its cuttings immediately in a permanent place, since the plant does not tolerate the subsequent transplant very well.
See also tips for breeding Lychnis.
Possible diseases and pests of poppy when grown in the garden
Although the plant is unpretentious, but with a systematic violation of the rules of agricultural technology, it happens that it is affected by the following diseases:
- Powdery mildew or ashtray, arising from the fungus and appearing on the foliage with a bloom resembling a cobweb or a spilled lime mortar, which will disappear after a while, and will be replaced by grains of the finest black and brown colors. This disease negatively affects the decrease in poppy yield. On examination, if such symptoms are found, immediate treatment with fungicidal preparations is recommended. They can be, for example, copper oxychloride (40 g of the substance is diluted in a 10 l bucket with water) or a soda solution (for 10 l 30-50 g). You can use the fungicide Fundazol or folk remedies in the form of an infusion based on garlic or mustard.
- Downy mildew (downy mildew). Fungi are also the cause. At the same time, the foliage becomes covered with marks of a red-brown color scheme, then it is deformed, the stems and peduncles are strongly curved. Over time, a greyish-ink layer can be seen on the stems and undersides of the leaves, which represents the spores of the fungus. The disease drowns out the poppy seedlings, and if an adult specimen is affected, then small bolls are formed, little filled with seeds. The methods of struggle are the same as with the ashstone.
- Fusarium wilting again has a fungal etiology. Well visible due to warm, rounded marks on stems and leaf blades. The plant dries up, the capsule fruits remain immature and small, their surface is deformed, covered with wrinkles, and becomes brown. There is no treatment, all affected plants must be removed, and the soil where they grew is disinfected. For this, the soil is watered with a fungicidal solution.
- Alternaria characterized by the appearance of a spotted layer of olive color on the foliage and poppy bolls. The disease is of fungal origin, but treatment with drugs like Bordeaux liquid and Fundazole can be used against this disease.
To prevent the planting of poppy from being exposed to fungal diseases, it is recommended to observe the fruit change. That is, when three years must pass in the area before the poppy, after the last cultivation of the same plant. When the autumn period comes, you need to carefully destroy all plant residues, and loosen the soil to a depth equal to the bayonet of a shovel.
Of the pests that create problems when growing poppy, there are:
- Weevil (poppy lurker), presented in the form of a bug that harms poppy roots. The larvae will spoil the foliage. To combat pre-sowing, it is recommended to add 10% granular Buzudin or 7% Chlorophos to the substrate. When they are engaged in the cultivation of perennial poppy varieties, these preparations are embedded in the substrate between the bushes. As soon as poppy shoots become visible, spraying with Chlorophos foliage is performed 2-3 times with an interval of 10 days.
- Aphids - small bugs of green or black color, sucking nutritious juices from the leaves. It is recommended to spray with insecticides, for example, Aktara and Aktellik.
- May beetles and thrips, which I can also cope with with the help of insecticides such as Fitoverm.
Read also how to protect lilies from diseases and pests in garden cultivation.
Interesting notes about the poppy flower
Since ancient times, it has been cultivated by humans as an ornamental culture. But its seeds were used by confectioners, flavoring or decorating pastries. Also, the seed material is used for the production of technical oil from it, which is applicable for the manufacture of margarine.
Sleeping poppy (Papaver somniferum) or, as it is also called - Opium poppy, was actively cultivated by people because it was possible to get milky juice from its unripe fruit-boxes. The resulting substance was later used for the preparation by hand to produce opium, which is used not only as a drug, but also for medical drugs suitable for relieving pain or as a sleeping pill, which are morphine and codeine.
The poppy plant and its cultivation have been very common since the Middle Ages in the countries of Asia Minor. This is because Muslims are forbidden to drink wine and alcoholic beverages, and smoking opium served as a substitute for that. Today, opium poppy is widespread and cultivated not only in the countries of Asia Minor, but also in China and India, as well as Afghanistan. The reason that poppy smoking, for example, in China has become a mass phenomenon, was the fact that in the 20th year of the XIX century they tried to prevent the import of the drug into the country, but during the "opium" war with Great Britain, after the loss, its delivery was restored again.
Curious
Alkaloids can also contain other varieties of poppy.
In 2004, Russia adopted a decree banning the cultivation of the opium poppy and other varieties that belong to the Papaver genus, containing narcotic substances. And therefore, there is even Article 231 in the Criminal Code.
If we talk about the usefulness of poppy, then for a long time poppy seeds were given to children who suffered from sleep disorders. At the same time, from 768 to 814, which were marked by the reign of Charlemagne, European peasants were charged with presenting about 26 liters of poppy seeds as a tax. Everything would be fine and the dangers of seed material were not known for a long time, and only in the 16th century the doctor, and part-time scientist-botanist - Jacob Theodorus (1522-1590) did not publish the work "Juice of Poppy Seeds". This publication told not only about the benefits of using poppy, but also the damage that occurs when using it.
The oil obtained from poppy seeds is considered to be one of the most valuable materials, and it is not without reason that it is used in the manufacture of coloring and cosmetic products. In ancient times, folk healers used a decoction of poppy roots to relieve the manifestations of sciatica (inflammation of the sciatic nerve) and migraine symptoms. If you make a decoction of poppy seeds, then such a remedy will help to establish digestion.
Contraindications for the use of any preparations based on any parts of the poppy are:
- children under two years of age;
- patients who drink alcohol in large quantities;
- cholelithiasis;
- lack of oxygen in the body (hypoxia or anoxemia);
- emphysema of the lungs;
- bronchial asthma;
- chronic constipation;
- depressed breathing.
See also curious notes on scented tobacco.
Description of species and varieties of poppy
Opium poppy (Papaver somniferun)
or Opium poppy, Poppy sleeping pills … An annual herbaceous plant found naturally in the Mediterranean. The stems grow straight and are characterized by weak branching. Their color is greenish-gray, there is a waxy coating. The leaf plates in the root zone have oblong outlines, those that grow on the stem in the form of ellipses, while in the upper part their color is bluish-green, and the shape is triangular, it happens that there is curliness.
The doubleness and color of flowers in a species can vary greatly. The diameter of the flower is 15 cm, while the height of the stems reaches 0.9–1 m. The color of the petals includes lilac and crimson, violet, pink and red. Florists often prefer to grow the peony form, since it is distinguished by flowers with greater splendor and large sizes. Flowering takes almost a month, while the flowers bloom in the morning and by the evening their petals are already falling.
There are a large number of varieties, but the most used are:
- Black cloud - an annual with straight and high shoots, about 1 m in height. The color of the stems is gray-greenish. The buds flaunt on elongated peduncles. The flower petals can take on a dark purple to almost black hue. The shape of the flower is peony, while the diameter in the opening is 10 cm. The flowering process occurs in July-August and stretches for a month. It is characterized by resistance to cold weather.
- Salmon cloud, is also an annual with bluish-greenish foliage. The stem grows straight, reaching a height of 1 m. The structure of the flower is terry, the opening reaches a diameter of 10 cm. The color of the petals is orange-scarlet. The buds begin to open in the middle of summer, flowering is extended for 30 days.
- Danish flag. The height of the stems does not exceed 0.75 m. The color of the petals was the reason for the specific name. There is a whitish cross on the blood-scarlet background of the petal. The edge of the petals is decorated with a fringed pubescence. After the flowers are pollinated, the highly decorative bolls full of seeds ripen.
Self-seeding poppy (Papaver rhoeas)
An annual herb, the stems of which stretch up to 30–60 cm in height, but these figures for some specimens are 0.8 m. Shoots that grow vertically upward are characterized by branching and spreading outlines. The size of the leaves in the root zone is large, their shape is pinnately-divided with a serrated edge. The leaf plates on the stems take on a tripartite shape with lobes that are divided in the form of feathers. Both foliage and stems are covered with coarse hairy pubescence.
The color structure ranges from simple, semi-double to double. When opening, the diameter of the flower can vary in the range of 5–7 cm. The color of the petals includes pink, red, salmon, snow-white or red-white (border of the opposite color) tone. There may also be a dark speck at the base of the petals.
The native area of growth falls on the lands of the western and central regions of Europe, as well as the central zone of Russia. The best of a large number of varieties are recognized today:
- Silk Moire pleasing to the eye with semi-double flowers. The central part of the petals is of a delicate shade, but the edge of a more saturated tone. The height of the stems is equal to 0.8 cm.
- Shirley represented by a garden form, the height of the shoots of which is 0.75 m. The flowers are very spectacular outlines, light shades, the stamens in the center are whitish.
Holostem poppy (Papaver nudicaule)
may occur under the name Saffron poppy (Papaver croceum). It is represented by a perennial, a herbaceous plant used in cultivation as an annual flower. The native area of growth falls on the territory of Mongolia and Altai, Central Asian and East Siberian lands. The stems can grow up to 0.3 m in height. Leaves on stems in the area next to the soil have a grayish or greenish tint. Their shape is feathery. The surface is covered with hairs or bare. When fully opened, the diameter of the flower is 2.5–5 cm. The buds are crowned with sturdy pedicels reaching 15–20 cm. The petals are characterized by a whitish, yellow or orange tint. The species blooms from May to mid-autumn.
Important
Any part of this poppy is poisonous.
They are characterized by varieties in which the buds can bloom until late autumn. Among them are:
- Popskayl - a very spectacular plant, which does not exceed 0.25 cm in height. Peduncles are durable and can easily withstand gusts of wind. They are crowned with flowers of bright color, opening up to 10 cm in diameter.
- Cardinal it can stretch in shoots up to 0.4 m in height, the petals of flowers delight the eye with a beautiful scarlet shade. The diameter of the flower is 6 cm.
- Sulfureum the height does not exceed 0.3 m. The diameter of the flower is not more than 6 cm. The petals are of a beautiful lemon-yellow shade.
Video about growing poppy in the garden:
