Meconopsis
Blue poppy
- Height × spread
- 1.2m – 2.2m × 0.45m – 1m
- Position
- Full sun
Availability
Please ask in store about availability
Many plants are seasonal. Call 01234 567890 to check current stock.
About this plant
A range of poppies that includes the ethereal blue beauty the Meconopsis betonicifolia. There are poppies within this genus in shades of purple, red and yellow. They are mainly from the Himalayas, but their number includes the jolly bright yellow Welsh Poppy (Meconopsis cambrica) that enlivens many gardens and, once introduced, may never go away again. Some forms provide exquisite foliage mounds that anticipate the glorious flowers that will later appear. The Satin Poppy (Meconopsis napaulensis) is one such example. Some of these forms die once they have flowered, some self-seed, if you are lucky. They are often plants which need cool, preferably woodland conditions and are unsuited to dry and hot positions. They range in height from 30cm to over 2 metres. They generally flower from late spring and go well into summer.
- Flower colour
- Blue, Red, White, Yellow
- Foliage colour
- Green, Grey, Yellow
- Variegated
- No
- Scent
- No
- Shape
- Column
- Height
- 1.2m – 2.2m
- Spread
- 0.45m – 1m
- Season of interest
- Spring, Summer, Autumn
- Evergreen
- Deciduous
- Garden style
- Shady court
- Sun or shade
- Likes full sun, likes part shade, likes light shade
- Soil type
- Clay, Loam (normal)
- Soil pH
- Acid (ericaceous), Neutral
- Drainage
- Moisture retentive soil, Damp and wet soil, Well drained soil
- Winter hardiness
- Varies, most are hardy
- Borders & containers
- Borders
- Hazards
- No
AutumnNow
Autumn - late · Outdoors
Apply mulch
Spread organic material around the plant being careful not to bury its crown, or to put the mulch above the point at which the plant has been grafted in the case of trees.
A mulch is a covering that can: protect the soil surface from rain, heat and cold; deter weeds; provide nutrients. Organic indicates that material has vegetative origin e.g. manure, compost. Synthetics i.e. plastics, or stones are often called mulches.
Spring
Spring - late · Outdoors
Feed with sequestrol
If plants are acid loving and grown in soil with little acidity, or in a container, or are watered with limey tap water an annual feed with sequestrol (iron chelate) is highly beneficial. Follow guidelines on the packet. Will also 'blue-up' hydrangeas.
For hydrangeas that have good blue flowers in acid soil, this product can be used with alkaline soil to turn the flowers blue. This is most effective when the soil is neutral or just slightkly alkaline.
Spring-Autumn · Outdoors
Water to keep the soil moist
For best results, this plant needs soil that is always moist. Water deeply and regularly as soon as soil appears dry. Even for established plants in the ground, a dry week can cause problems with some soils. Check plants in pots more often, especially in hot weather. Or install an automatic irrigation system which will do the hard work for you, even when you are away on holiday.
Without regular watering some plants never fully regain their beauty.
Planting & general
Planting
Divide after flowering
Clumps that have become congested can be lifted, divided and replanted with some space between the bulbs, corms, or rhizomes so that they can further develop, producing new foliage clumps in the future.
Found in
More Meconopsis
Meconopsis baileyi
Himalayan blue poppy, Asiatic poppy
Meconopsis napaulensis
Satin poppy
Meconopsis regia
Royal poppy
Meconopsis x sheldonii (ambig.)
Sheldon's Blue poppy
Meconopsis baileyi
Himalayan blue poppy, Asiatic poppy
Meconopsis grandis 'Slieve Donard'
Slieve Donard poppy