Poppy ‘Luscious Lavender’ Peony PomPom

Description

Indescribably elegant, Luscious Lavender is superb in the flower border, with lush frilled, dark pink-violet/purple, often palm-sized blooms. Read blog post here!

They send up thick flower stems that produce five to ten nodding flower heads. When the flowers do burst, overnight, from their casings, what a treat to enjoy some of the most dramatic flowers in the plant kingdom. As if this weren’t enough to tempt any gardener, once the petals drop, one is left with a spectacular, instantly recognizable seedpod.
Sown in early spring, the plants grow quickly and the first flowers appear in early July. (See poppy info under ‘Blog’) They grow to about 60 to 90cm (24 to 36in) tall and have thick stalks and broad lettuce-like leaves. The light green, almost round pods are well-suited for crafts and dried floral arrangements. This annual variety will readily self-seed and will make an excellent addition to any garden for years to come.

These poppies grow quickly. Grow them in a position with deep, well-drained, fertile soil in full sun, they can also be grown in large containers and usually starting flowering here in Zone 5 in July.

When sown in autumn the plants will form a tap root which is fairly hardly, so while the leaf above ground will be lost over the winter, the plant will shoot from this tap root again in the spring.
Thin the seedlings out so they are finally a good 6″ apart by early summer. Be ruthless, just leave the biggest and most healthy looking. By doing this, you’ll get more flowers and pods per plant that are bigger and stronger.

Poppies don’t need to be watered too often, but when you do water, give the plants a deep soaking. This will promote strong root growth.
The most serious problem for these poppies is root rot. Excellent drainage is a must. Once they get established the plants are very hardy.These poppies are annuals but when well-grown the blossom can be just as large as the perennial Oriental poppy, and they bloom later than their perennial cousins. And most people don’t seem to know that you can deadhead peony poppies to get rebloom! Follow the stem of the spent bloom down to the first set of leaves and cut the stem just above those leaves. In many cases you can see the incipient flower bud forming where the leaf attaches to the stem.

Cut Flowers:
The blooms make stunning floral arrangements but aren’t particularly long lasting. Cut flowers last just 2-3 days in the vase if you’re lucky. Harvest when ½ open and sear the bottom end in boiling water for 7-10 seconds. Seed pods can be dried and used indefinitely- beautiful for flower arrangements & winter arrangements & dried floral projects. Cut the pods off leaving a long stem if possible and hang upside down to dry.

Approx 100+ seeds