Annuals & Biennials

Eschscholzia
California poppy

- Height 5-15 in (13-38 cm)
- Planting distance 6 in (15 cm)
- Flowers early summer to midfall
- Any garden soil
- Sunny site
- Hardy annual

The fragile delicate charm of this group of poppies is apparent from the moment the conical green hats split open around their buds of crumpled silk until the petals fall to reveal long, cylindrical seed heads. Produced from early summer to midfall, the bright flowers are complemented by exqusitely cut blue-green foliage. Two species and their cultivars are popular in gardens, where they can be grown in borders with poor sandy soil or on sunny banks. They produce self-sown seedlings, so you can rely upon them to appear year after year.

Popular species and cultivars
Eschscholzia caespitosa (syn. E. tenifolia) has small yellow flowers, which appear freely between early summer and early fall. It is a dwarf species, reaching just 5 in (13 cm) high, so it looks best as edging at the front of a border or in a rock garden. Space the plants 6 in (15 cm) apart. The popular cultivar 'Sundew' bears scented lemon-yellow blooms. Eschscholzia californica bears masses of bright orange-yellow flowers from early summer until midfall, followed by long cylindrical blue-green seedpods. The plants reach 12-15 in (30-38 cm) high. Popular cultivars include 'Ballerina' (double red, orange, pink, and yellow flowers on compact plants), 'Monarch Hybrids' (single and semidouble blooms in yellow, orange, red, and carmine-pink), 'Orange King' (translucent orange flowers), and 'Purple-Violet' (unusual purple flowers with a hint of red in them).

Annuals
and
Biennials