califoronia poppy seedlings turning yellow

Plants will freely self-seed if you allow the seed pods to mature and drop. Plants can range from low-growing and under a foot tall to up to three feet tall for some breadseed cultivars. And the leaves are thin, almost like tissue paper that has been balled up and smoothed back out. orientale varieties bloom in the spring, while breadseed and California poppies bloom in the summer.Įach individual blossom lasts just a few days or so, but the plants constantly send up new buds, so you can count on a fairly long-lasting display.īeyond the blossoms, the seed pods can be extremely beautiful as well. rhoeas) are also popular species.īright red Flanders poppies can often be seen growing on the sides of freeways and in cultivated “wildflower” fields. orientale), and Flanders (and the strain known as Shirley) poppies ( P. paeoniflorum) is another commonly grown species with full, peony-like flowers. You must have the knowledge that a poppy seed pod can be used to create opium to be on dangerous legal ground. The law is ambiguous, and only when it can be shown that you’re growing them to harvest the opium might you face legal consequences.

So long as you’re only growing the plants for their ornamental value, there’s nothing to worry about. But most home gardeners are probably safe. The gardens at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello were ordered cleared of poppies by the Drug Enforcement Agency, as have been other private gardens across the US. This Is Your Mind on Plants, available on Amazon

Califoronia poppy seedlings turning yellow