It is a small iris (about 20" tall)--very delicate and pretty.
This beauty is one of my many poppies. This is a very large double variety, which is so beautiful -- as long as it's not windy or rainy. The large head which makes it so beautiful also is very heavy and the slightest wind/rain will make it fall to the ground.
It's thundering outside right now so it shouldn't be long before this one takes a tumble.
My favorite poppies have not yet bloomed. They are single and their foliage is much bushier with the flower stems shorter. Here is a picture:
Can anyone explain the difference to me between the above "good" poppies and the "bad" poppies below (the long curly stems with very little foliage). I got both from my Mother-in-law and she does not remember what they are.
Update: Since I awoke very early today, I had time to do a little searching and found out that these are two different species. Everything I read suggests that this:
The "bad" poppy is Papaver rhoeas, also called the Common poppy or field poppy.
The "good" poppy is Papaver orientale.
I also found this :
"Each plant is able to produce around 17, 000 seeds, these can remain dormant in the soil for 80 years or more, perhaps even as long as 100 years " WOW! You better love these once you plant them.
I never let mine seed because I don't want more of the "bad" ones. Although, as Kathy mentioned in her comment, I also find that these must spread by other means...even though I don't allow them to seed, they are spreading out in about a 2ft radius.
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I think I just have the "good" single poppy that you have. It was growing here when we moved in. I have also seen a double one in other old gardens that seems to spread rather quickly, almost as if it were stoloniferous. I find it intriquing that you have three different kinds of Oriental poppy. It almost sounds like they are different strains.
ReplyDeleteLove the iris as I'm on an iris kick this year from planting the rhizomes I bought last fall. I still have 'Night Owl', the dark purple blooming. I think of 13-14 irises, only a few didn't bloom yet. They may be late bloomers.
ReplyDeleteI love your iris! Another plant I need to track down it would look great amoungst my purple and white iris.
ReplyDeleteI have the single and double poppies in my back flowerbeds and every year I have to cut them down as soon as they finish flowering because if I let the seeds come out of the pod, I get thousands more growing the next year! lol Love your iris, so very intricate and beautiful flower!!
ReplyDeleteThat's a great iris. I have trouble finding great-looking small and medium irises. Most places have lots of the tall and giant ones. (Maybe the smaller ones just sell out really fast.)
ReplyDeleteMy poppies don't spread or seed. The established plants just get bigger and more lush. I have never had any luck transplanting poppies, so I am amazed that you got yours from someone else. I envy your prolific poppies.
Karen, You must have the "good" poppies -- i.e. the oriental. The few nice clumps I have of those do not spread or seed either. I've tried to do both to get more of them, but no luck.
ReplyDeleteNow that I know the others are called "field poppies", I like them even less. I got rid of a lot of them last year (had to use RoundUP) and I think I will get rid of more this year.
The field poppies are annuals, and the leaves are different enough to be distinct from the Oriental poppies. I have seen both double and single Oriental poppies, and single and double field poppies, so I'm not sure you've solved your good poppy/bad poppy conundrum.
ReplyDeleteKathy, I didn't realize that Papaver "rhoeas" was the annual poppy. I have seen the annual and that is definately not what I have.
ReplyDeleteBack to the drawing board...........
Zoey, I'm thinking that the field and Shirley poppies are one and the same, but I could be wrong) and those look like Shirley poppies to me. I have some and they do seed themselves...sometimes too freely. When mine bloom I'll take a pic for you. I actually love them. They're so delicate and have lovely colors.
ReplyDeleteI have 2 oriental poppy plants that I just put in last year (orange). They'll be blooming soon. The plants are huge with lots of buds. I can't wait! They're surrounded by Johnny Jump Ups gone mad. I'll have to thin the latter. Talk about reseeding! But they bloom so early and are so pretty that I leave them there for a while.
If I remember correctly, Shirley poppies are a selection of field poppies made by Reverend Shirley. True Shirley poppies have a thin edge of white.
ReplyDelete