Macleaya cordata
Plume poppy, Tree celandine
Also known as Bocconia cordata
- Height × spread
- 2.1m × 1m
- Position
- Full sun
- Hardiness
- Very cold to -20C (RHS H6)
- Flowers
- Summer
Availability
Please ask in store about availability
Many plants are seasonal. Call 01234 567890 to check current stock.
About this plant
This is a beautiful plant for the back of the border. It holds its big, very smooth and handsome leaves rather horizontally. The broad leaves are grey-green, whitish on their undersides. Above this statuesque pile rise slim, feathery panicles of creamy-white flowers. If you cut the plume poppy foliage for the house it is necessary immediately to seal the stems by immersing the tips in boiling water.
- Flower colour
- White
- Foliage colour
- Green
- Variegated
- No
- Scent
- No
- Shape
- Bell
- Height
- 2.1m
- Spread
- 1m
- Spread in 10 years
- 0.6m
- Season of interest
- Summer
- Flowers in
- Summer
- Evergreen
- Deciduous
- Garden style
- Prairie garden, Gravel garden
- Sun or shade
- Likes full sun, tolerates part shade, tolerates light shade
- Soil type
- All types
- Soil pH
- All types
- Drainage
- Moisture retentive soil, Well drained soil, Dry soil, Drought resistant
- Hardiness
- Very cold to -20C (RHS H6)
- Borders & containers
- Borders
- Use for
- Rabbit resistant, Bee attraction, Sensory garden (tactile)
- Hazards
- No
- Pet safe
- Yes – listed in our pet-safe plants
Spring
Spring - late · Outdoors
Feed with slow release fertiliser
Apply a general purpose slow release fertiliser, spreading it around the root area of the plant as it is coming into growth. (Or apply a liquid feed at regular intervals throughout the growing season.)
This is a simple way to provide a nutrient boost as a single annual procedure.
Spring-Autumn · Outdoors
Water in dry periods
Established plants in the ground can cope with 7-10 days of dryness, and shrubs often manage 2 to 3 weeks. Water one section of the garden thoroughly each day rather than a little everywhere. Check plants in pots more often, especially in hot weather.
Spring - early-mid · Planting
Divide when too large
The plant can be divided if it becomes too large or another plant is required. This may involve physically dividing the clump in two, removing offsets or small bulbs or dividing rhizomes. The new plants can be grown in pots or planted in the ground.