FREE: 10 Plume Poppy Seeds

The listing, 10 Plume Poppy Seeds has ended.

Plume Poppy, Bocconia

Macleaya cordata

Type: Perennials
Height: 4-6 ft. (1.2-1.8 m)
Conditions: Zone 3-10, Full Sun

If you're long on garden space but dread caring for the deciduous shrubs to fill it, let plume poppies (Macleaya spp.) provide a solution. These 5- to 8-foot perennials have head-turning, olive- or gray-green foliage that brings a tropical touch to their surroundings from spring to fall. In summer, their enormous plumes of airy white, pink or bronze-pink flowers add to the drama. The only challenge to growing plume poppies lies in discouraging their enthusiastic spread.

Plume poppies growing in consistently moist soils produce the most luxuriant foliage and heaviest blooms, but they also spread more aggressively than they would on drier sites. They're not fussy about pH, tolerating mildly acidic to mildly alkaline soils with readings between 6.1 and 7.5. Avoid sites with high organic content, because poor to averagely fertile soils help curb their aggressive tendencies. Single plants make striking ornamental focal points. Allow 3 to 5 feet between multiple plume poppies used as border plantings.