Eschscholzia californica (California Poppy)

Desperate for color? Why don’t you try planting California Poppies (Eschscholzia Californica)? Quick to bloom and ridiculously easy to grow, you will be charmed by their spectacular, billowing mounds of finely divided, blue-green lacy foliage capped with bountiful golden satiny flowers for weeks from spring to mid-fall or fall through winter in mild climate areas.

• Generally pest and disease-free, California Poppies are low-maintenance plants grown as annuals in cool weather areas or as short-lived perennials in hardiness zones 8 – 10.
• Growing in loose, free-branching mounds up to 6-12 in. tall (15-30 cm) and 6-8 in. wide (15-20 cm), they feature single, semi-double or double silky flowers, up to 3 inches across (7 cm), in vibrant and bold colors including white, pink, red, orange, cream and yellow.
• The flowers close at night, when it is overcast, and when it rains.
• California Poppies perform best in full sun, in sandy, poor to average, well-drained soils. Good drainage is essential! They are heat and drought-tolerant and tolerate maritime exposure too.
• Deer and rabbit resistant, California Poppies are a joy to bees and butterflies. California Poppies are lovely additions to beds and borders, containers, rock gardens, naturalized plantings, and along paths or walkways.
• They may be grown from seeds or live plants. Sow seeds outdoors after all danger of frost has passed or indoors 2-3 weeks before the last spring frost date. In hardiness zones 6-10, seeds may be sown in fall.
• Deadhead spent flowers to encourage new blooms. If the flower heads remain, the poppies will self-seed without becoming invasive.
• Native to the United States and Mexico. This plant may become weedy or invasive in some regions or habitats and may displace desirable vegetation if not properly managed.
• Find where this species is invasive in the United States.