Macleaya cordata

Macleaya cordata, also known as plume poppy, is a very large perennial plant, with magnificent lobed blue-green foliage and an abundant summer flowering with feathery spikes composed of small cream-white flowers that turn pink and then reddish in autumn. It is a beautiful and voluptuous plant that thrives in the sun, whether planted individually or in the background of a flower bed.

It is native to China and Japan, and belongs to the Papaveraceae family (like poppies). Macleaya cordata is a highly branched, highly vigorous rhizomatous perennial. It bears large blue-green leaves on pruinose stems, in the shape of a heart, composed of 5 to 7 rounded lobes. It blooms in July-August and displays tall feathery panicles composed of pendant small flowers that evolve from cream-white to slightly pinkish, fading to a beautiful reddish hue in autumn.

It is deciduous, dying down in winter only to reappear, faithfully and majestically, in spring. It is perfectly hardy, at least down to -15°C (5°F).

In the garden, this generous perennial thrives in sun, sheltered from strong winds, in any ordinary soil as long as it remains moist. Its considerable growth (2.5m (8ft) tall and 1m (3ft) wide) is ideal for quickly creating beautiful volumes in the background of a flower bed or to form a privacy screen, but it requires a substantial amount of space.

In the garden, it can be planted individually as its beauty is self-sufficient, or in the company of other giant perennials with strong personalities such as purple Eupatorium, giant bronze fennel, or Gunnera manicata. It is also stunning in the background of a flower bed with a foreground composed of smaller-sized perennials.