Matilija poppies are blooming

It's that time of year. You can't tell by the pic, but the tallest stalks are almost seven feet tall.

-Ron-

hiya RWhiz,

Those are fabulous! We just got a 5gal R. coulteri from Las Pilitas and are going to try it here in Temecula. I had them on the coast and loved them. Yours are really nice indeed.

best,
Don

Hi Ron & Don!

Aren't these the prettiest things??!!

I think all the late spring rains here really helped these great poppies this year.

Don, this was a 5gal can 2 years ago. :-) Stands about 8' high and is about 8' wide x 4' across (I planted it waaay too close to a path in the wildland garden and it wants to take over the path, so I have to trim the one side back every month or so.) The 1 gal can planted about a year ago is now 5' high and about 3 x 3.

Hard to get a good picture today.......we've dropped about 15degrees in temp today and have 25miph winds blowing these babies around.....they don't seem to mind at all.

hiya Happenstance,

great to see you!

Those are marvellous! I hope to have half the success you're having with yours. Really beautiful.

best to you,
Don

The success is all Mother Nature's doing. It is on the downslope hill outside the back fence. Winter rains only, no food or water from human hands. They just look pretty all on their own, but it did take a year for it to get its feet settled. That first year I was really wondering whether they would make it.

Ron,

everytime you post a pic from your garden I just drool...you have a great layout and plantings from what I have seen!

Ron

So glad to see these photos. We just bought our first at Tree of Life yesterday and are planting it today -- looking forward to the show next year. My DH had never seen them in England and was surprised at the size -- when he thinks of poppies, they are short! :-)

I love these poppies. Is it possible to get them to grow from a cutting or should I wait for the seeds in fall?

good question. also: do they drop leaves or stay bushy overwinter?
i would love to use them as a natural border/fence!

Hi Quyen...

I think it is best to grow from a root division or sucker. Not sure if a branch cutting will work.

The seeds require heat treatment (fire) to germinate.

More information here:

http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/2504/index.html

Erik

Mine have been blooming like mad for the last 4 weeks, I love the scent, and can't get enough of it, everytime I go outside I need a whiff!!!!!!
I've planted a couple of cuttings and see how they do! A gal at the UCB Botanical dept Native plant Society told me just to cut and plant!
Annie

We planted our first (1 gal) a couple of weeks ago, but it does not look very happy. The leaves are looking a bit yellow, and I'm wondering if I'm giving it too much water or not enough. We have good drainage, and the other plants we put in on the same day are doing good. What do y'all think?

It will probably look terrible and then more terrible until next Spring at least. They are sometimes difficult when first planted. Once they take hold they go like gangbusters! I'd just make sure it isn't bone dry (ever) nor soggy and take the wait and see attitude.

>also: do they drop leaves or stay bushy overwinter?

Sevensisters asked this above.

Whenever I see them in (very) early spring in natural settings, the leaves are black and hanging on what appear to be dead branches. I've never grown them, so I'm not sure exactly when they die back or if they stay green if given summer water.

I'm watching a clump this summer in an empty lot near work, and can tell you once established they will probably do fine with no more summer water than we normally receive (almost none). Also just noticed the nice scent this summer. I didn't know any flowers in the Poppy family had such a nice scent.

Erik

Mine stay bushy overwinter, with monster winds they look a little tattered by Spring but quickly recover. Our lows here are 37-39F with no frost in the last 7 years. No chance for frost to even form because of the wind! LOL

These also receive little if any water in the non-rainy season....perhaps a little underground moisture from the drip system that serves some of the other plants in the wildland garden on our back hill. And they are blooming up a storm this year......probably due to the heavy winter rains and it has rained this month lest we forget. :-)

It is a very easy nondemanding plant to grow once established. I've got mine way up in the rocks in an isolated spot on the property. In late November/early December I cut mine back to about two-foot stalks. By January you can see the new growth. I really don't water it much at all. As a matter of fact I don't think they really like water in July/August/Sept when the plant is turning brown. At its peak in May/June it looks glorious.

In the Spring, on the road between Jamul and Campo, in San Diego county, you can see them growing all along the roadside--even coming out of the bare cliffs.

-Ron-

Thanks. Will use the finger test to watch for extremes.

Kathleen

It is one of my favorites! Not much water at all once established, enjoys rather dry soil, I did not trim mine this year as I just planted it in Spring of 04, but will this year,
Annie

Poppies in the morning light, July 4, 2004.