California Poppy Copper Swirl Seeds - Eschscholzia californica

California Poppy 'Copper Swirl' is a brand new variety of Eschscholtzia californica whose fiery coppery red-orange flowers will not go unnoticed, even under a blazing sun. Single or double, they display delicately crinkled petals which gleam with rich highlights in the sunlight. The spectacle of its dazzling blooms above its beautifully cut foliage lasts until the onset of colder weather. Just as at home in cloister-type gardens as in sophisticated flower beds, this plant withstands heat, drought and poor soils. It is moderately hardy but self-seeds easily in light soil.

California Poppy ‘Copper Swirl' is a variety obtained from Eschscholtzia californica, a short-lived perennial native to California and the Southwestern United States. There, this plant covers vast expanses of plains or very sunny, stony, wild meadows, not far from sequoia forests. Although it is not very resistant to heavy frost in wet soils, it is perfectly adapted to dry and hot climates and is easy to grow as an annual in all our regions. Like all poppies, it belongs to the Papaveraceae family.

This plant develops a taproot and quickly forms a clump of foliage, 25 cm in height and width. The leaves are pinnate, finely cut and of a particularly attractive colour varying between bluish green and green-grey, that enhances the colour of the flowers perfectly.  Depending on when the seeds were sown, flowering takes place from spring to summer, lasting even up to November in Mediterranean climates. It reveals in the middle of its foliage, finely crinkled, cup-shaped flowers, that can are single or double depending on the specimen and that reflect the sunlight. They open up more in full sun. Their colouring is a hue between red and fiery orange. The flowers are melliferous and nectar-rich and are followed by the formation of long, tapering, 7 to 8 cm long, glaucous capsules that contain tiny seeds.

California poppies are a blessing for dry gardens, rock gardens, poor, difficult soils and seaside gardens. They can be sown in perennial beds, natural areas of the garden or even in pots. They are perfect plants for maintenance-free or weekend gardens. Their colours blend beautifully with white, light blue (false indigo, perennial flax, forget-me-not, Cupid’s Dart) and mauve (Wallflower 'Bowles's Mauve’, Purpletop Vervain). They are pretty but short-lived in bouquets.