Papaver orientale (Oriental poppy)
Papaver ‘Karine’
There is nothing quite like the impact of a field of fiery orange-red poppies this time of the year. You remember Dorothy, Toto, and her entourage running toward Oz through those poppies! We grow several Papaver species at Loomis Creek, but the queen is Papaver orientale with big, 6-inch-wide flowers with crinkly, tissue-paper-thin petals surrounding a ring of conspicuous colorful stamens and architectural pistil. And they’re not just orange, as you can see (that’s ‘Karine,’ above).
Gray- to silvery green leaves are hairy, rough-textured, and irregularly lobed in sizeable clumps at ground level. The foliage disappears soon after flowering, leaving bare spots in borders. Plan for neighboring perennials to fill the gaps or plunge in seasonal annuals.
I generally prefer single-flowered poppies over frilly doubles and over-the-top cabbage-headed forms. Papaver ‘Karine’ (pictured) is one of my favorites. Oriental poppies come in a full range colors to satisfy your personal style; we have stocked at least a dozen cultivars at Loomis Creek with regional names like ‘Soho’, ‘Manhattan’, ‘Central Park’, ‘Harlem’ and more. Come meet these beauties.
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