Poppy National Mix Seeds - Papaver rhoeas

The field poppy or Papaver rhoeas 'National Mix' selection displays a magnificent combination of bright red and pure white hues. Its semi-double corollas are as light as transparent silk and bloom continuously from spring to summer, doing so even in barren soils provided they receive enough sun, just like the common poppies of our fields. This very undemanding annual grows and self-seeds readily in the sun and is absolutely sensational in sunny borders and beds. Perfect in brand new gardens, it quickly occupies empty spaces and makes do with mediocre, even heavy, chalky and degraded soil. Sowing them is a piece of cake.

The field poppy, also known as the common poppy, or simply poppy, is an annual plant of the family Papaveraceae that is native to Asia Minor. The 'National Mix' selection brings together two semi-double flowering forms of this very simple plant. Fast growing, in one season they reach a height of 55 cm when in flower and a width of 30 cm. The fragile-looking slender stems are rough and sparsely branched. The leaves are arranged in alternating rows and are divided into narrow, toothed lobes. Fragile in appearance, just like their slender, rough and sparsely branched stems, these plants form clumps of alternate leaves that are divided into narrow, toothed lobes. Their true vigour is revealed when they inevitably emerge from freshly overturned soil, germinating from seeds that are sometimes very old. Broken stems exude a white, milky sap. They flower in summer, from June to August, depending on the climate and the time of sowing. The flowers are shaped into open cups, 5-6 cm in diameter, that present 6 to 8, silky, slightly crumpled petals that are white or very red depending on the form. The green centre bears numerous stamens with yellow anthers. The flowers give way to fruits in the form of capsules containing numerous seeds that the wind will scatter.

At ease in wild gardens, in cloister gardens and gardens without gardeners, poppies make it possible to quickly and effortlessly create oceans of flowers of poignant simplicity, harmonizing perfectly with the harsh summer light. Although they are not very long-lasting in bouquets, poppy flowers are extremely charming in beds when combined with love-in-a-mist, California poppies, tall daisies or the swaying leaves of ornamental grasses. This annual plant, like cosmos, has no equal when it comes to covering sunny embankments around new constructions and bright open spaces between annuals or big, late flowering perennials such as Helianthus whose blooms take over later in the season. If you still want to make bouquets with these flowers, the stems should be cauterized where they have been cut in order to prevent the flowers from fading the same day.