Plant Type

Perennial, Annual

 

Height Range

Under 1'

 

Flower Color

Gold, Orange, Yellow

 

Flower Season

Spring

 

Leaf Color

Grey Green

 

Bark Color

n/a

 

Fruit Color

n/a

 

Fruit Season

n/a

Sun

Full

 

Water

Low

 

Growth Rate

Fast

 

Soil Type

Sandy, Rocky

 

Soil Condition

Average, Poor, Well-drained, Dry

 

Soil pH

Neutral

 

Adverse Factors

n/a

Design Styles

English Cottage, Meadow, Mediterranean, Ranch, Spanish

 

Accenting Features

Showy Flowers

 

Seasonal Interest

Spring

 

Location Uses

Perennial Border, Parking Strip, Parking Lot, Raised Planter, Roadside, With Rocks

 

Special Uses

Filler, Mass Planting, Fire Resistant, Naturalizing, Small Spaces

 

Attracts Wildlife

n/a

California poppies are delightful, bushy plants with silky, four-petaled, cup-shaped flowers in shades of yellow, orange, and red. The flowers open on sunny days, and only last a day, but the plant blooms profusely in spring to early summer. Foliage is green-grey and deeply cut, nearly ferny in appearance. Plants may grow 8 to 20 inches tall, depending on the variety.

Prefers sandy, poor, gravelly soils that are very well drained. Grow in full sun. A perennial, it is treated as an annual here as it isn't cold hardy. However, if in the right place it will reseed with abandon and poppies will abound year after year. They do not transplant well, so starting from seed is the best means of adding this to your garden.