Planting And Caring For Yellow Poppies: How To Do It

Last updated on October 23rd, 2023 at 08:40 pm

Yellow poppies form vast seas of flowers in the summer, which you can also bring into your home garden. In this article, we’ll give you tips on how to plant and care for the poppy properly.

Yellow poppy belongs to the poppy family and is a real eye-catcher in fields and meadows with its bright yellow petals. However, the summer bloomer with its colorful flowers can just as well beautify your home flower bed. Yellow poppies can also thrive in poor soil in rock gardens. In addition, bees and other insects will be happy if you cultivate the nectar-rich plants in your garden.

Celandine poppy, a colorful spring beauty - YouTube

Yellow poppy: How to plant it

Planting And Caring For Yellow Poppies: How To Do It

It is best to sow yellow poppy seeds directly into the bed from March onwards. You can get the seeds, for example, in a well-stocked gardening store or online. In order to do everything right when sowing, you should observe the following tips:

  • Location: For yellow poppies to thrive, plant them in a sunny to full-sun location if possible. Also, make sure you sow the seeds in a wind-protected location so that the plant’s stems don’t easily bend over later. A bed by a dry stone wall with a south or west exposure is ideal.
  • Soil: Yellow poppies do particularly well in nutrient-poor, loamy-sandy soil. If the soil is also well-drained and loose, there is less risk of waterlogging later on.
  • Planting neighbors: Yellow poppy looks especially beautiful in groups with other summer flowers. You will get an interesting contrast if you plant it together with the blue flowering woodruff in a bed.
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Sow yellow poppies:

  • Make several furrows about an inch deep in the bed.
  • Now scatter the seeds in the prepared furrows and cover them with a thin layer of soil.
  • Between April and May you can thin out the seedlings to a distance of about ten centimeters.
  • Water the seedlings regularly, especially during long dry periods.

The right care for yellow poppy

Once yellow poppy is established at the site, it requires little care. For example, it sows itself again every year via the seeds in its seed pods. However, you can help the yellow poppy grow with a few care tips:

  • Watering: Regularly falling rainwater normally covers the water requirements of the yellow poppy. During prolonged dry periods in summer, you can water the flower additionally in the early morning or late evening. Always point the watering spout directly at the root area to protect the delicate flowers.
  • Fertilize: If you have planted yellow poppies in humus-rich soil, you can safely do without additional fertilizer.
  • Pruning: As an annual flower, yellow poppies do not require pruning, as they die back completely after the first frost. In summer, you can only prune out faded inflorescences and remove withered flowers. Unfortunately, yellow poppy is not suitable as a cut flower, because the flowers collapse after a short time in the vase. Therefore, enjoy the poppy rather in the bed or as a potted plant.
  • Propagation: If you want to propagate yellow poppies, you can simply let the plant self-seed. A more selective option is to collect the seed pods after flowering and spread them in the desired location.
  • Overwintering: If your region has a particularly mild climate, the otherwise annual yellow poppy may become a perennial. To protect it from frost and cold during the cold season, you should cut back the retracted foliage to just above ground level no later than late winter. Then cover the poppy with a layer of autumn leaves, straw or brushwood. On mild days, you can water the plant a little so that the root ball does not dry out.
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Caution: Yellow poppy is poisonous in all its parts. Therefore, the seeds are only suitable for sowing and should not be eaten.

Author

  • James Jones

    Meet James Jones, a passionate gardening writer whose words bloom with the wisdom of an experienced horticulturist. With a deep-rooted love for all things green, James has dedicated his life to sharing the art and science of gardening with the world. James's words have found their way into countless publications, and his gardening insights have inspired a new generation of green thumbs. His commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship shines through in every article he crafts.

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