Papaver orientale Mrs Perry - Oriental Poppy

The Papaver orientale 'Mrs Perry' is a genuinely charming variety of Oriental Poppy, with large crumpled salmon-pink corollas that resemble silk. Dark purple macules enhance each one, revealing a pink-tinted heart filled with violet stamens. They bloom in late spring and become more abundant over the years. This very perennial plant is easy to grow in all good garden soils, even chalky and dry in summer, in the sun, and its flowers, when picked in bud, are stunning in bouquets.

The 'Mrs Perry' Poppy is a horticultural selection. This plant comes from the Papaver orientale, an herbaceous perennial of the poppy family, native to Asia. This 'Mrs Perry' variety develops robust flowering stems 60 to 70 cm tall, forming a clump of foliage thickening over the years. Flowering takes place in May-June, before the arrival of summer heat and drought. Each hairy floral stem carries a single pendant bud at its tip, which turns upwards to give rise to a large flower 13 to 15 cm in diameter, composed of crumpled petals arranged in 2 rows. The petals are salmon-pink and maculated with purple at the base. The flower remains open for a few hours before dropping its petals. Well-established plants produce several flowering stems, ensuring the renewal of flowers for about three weeks. After flowering, the foliage tends to disappear, leaving, in autumn, a small basal rosette, which is characteristic of an adaptation to high temperatures and summer drought. The foliage consists of large, crumpled, medium-green leaves covered with hairs that give them a very decorative sheen. The fleshy and deep roots of this Oriental poppy do not tolerate transplantation well, especially in mature plants.

Oriental poppies are at home in sophisticated borders like cottage gardens or wildflower meadows. Their foliage forms a luxuriant clump that stands out in borders. Associate this lovely 'Mrs Perry' variety with the tall spires of white lupins ('West Country Polar Princess') or pink lupins ('The Chatelaine'), the silvery foliage of Stachys byzantina, lavenders, daisies, and other thistles. They also beautifully complement border roses, damask poppies, and cosmos for a summer atmosphere in soft colours. When designing your border, remember that this poppy's beautiful foliage disappears during the summer.