I have many Oriental Poppy plants around my yard- maybe for 10+ years. This weird seed head is developing on only 1 plant! Can someone tell me what is happening? Should I save it and maybe see a new type ? I hate to put time into in and not get anything a year from now! Thanks- PS- The seed head on the left is the normal one.
This message was edited Jun 24, 2022 1:20 PM
It is a hen and chick poppy. A quite fitting name! Usually has big beautiful flowers.
But this is what all the plants are-- never saw those seed heads before--
But this is what all the plants are-- never saw those seed heads before--just a normal Oriental Poppy!
They get the name hen and chick because the main seedpod is in the center with the smaller seedpods surrounding it thus looking like the hen and chick succulents. So you need that telling seedpod for it to be a hen and chick poppy.
My poppies that I grew were never this kind because they always had the 1 seedhead. But a few times I bought bouquets that had these seedpods in them so I looked into what they were for they were so interesting looking yet obviously poppy pods just weird ones.
Left to my own experience, at first I thought they were just fasciated seedpods from fasciated flowers. LOL But I was wrong.
A few years have passed so I best look it up again when I have a few minutes but those seedpods are normal for that poppy.
As I said, in 10 years yjat I have grown them, I have never seed this happen- But since I have rotten luck aat dividing them to share, I thought I would just share seeds with people who want them.
I just googled hen and chick poppy and up came many photos of the cool pods. Here is 1.
https://www.ouriquesfarm.com/store/seeds/shrub/hens-and-chicks-poppy/?attribute_quantity=550.00&utm_source=GoogleShopping&utm_campaign=FeedGoogleEnglishUSD&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=20913&gclid=CjwKCAjwwdWVBhA4EiwAjcYJEIC6hmQcur2hXDE1qXnQOsr-rggZ12E7ZpKhMd0ed0T5y2UJL1tXvRoCWjEQAvD_BwE
Thanks- it looks like 1 plant had regressed or reverted to early traits. I don't like it, so I will pull up that plant.
Hen and Chick is Papaver somniferum - opium/breadseed poppy. The photo is Papaver Orientale so not a Hen and Chick poppy.
