Description
Papaver atlanticum | Moroccan Poppy ‘Flore Pleno’
Poppies are a large family of flowering plants that include annuals, biennials, perennials, and even semi-shrubs and small evergreen trees. They are found all over the globe, and in a wide range of environments, but predominantly in the northern hemisphere. Botanists have divided poppies into almost 800 different species, grouped into 42 genera. And those are just the wild species! Plant breeders have been working with poppies for thousands of years now, and the variety out there today is nearly endless. They are prized for their delicate, silken petals that glow in the suns rays. They don’t last long which makes them that much more beautiful to see.
This perennial Moroccan Poppy (also called Atlas Poppy) comes from the Atlas mountains of Spain/Morocco and blooms from spring all the way through fall with steady blooms of solitary semi-double cupped orange flowers atop nodding, lanky stems on a bluish-green rosette of coarsely-toothed leaves. The orange flowers hold their color the longest with part shade, however can tolerate full sun.
‘Flore Pleno’ poppies appreciate a well-drained, somewhat dry position, winter chill, good air circulation and a hard cut after blooming. They’re drought resistant (xeric) and make a self-sowing, carefree addition to any cottage garden, rockery, or cut flower arrangement. Deer resistant too! Plant in mass for best effect. Seeds can be sown indoors or outside in the fall or early spring as soon as the last winter snow recedes.
Type: Perennial
Sun exposure: Full sun
Mature height: 2 ft
Mature width: 3 ft
Zones: 5-10