1206 



PAPAVER 



PAPAVER 



hybrids of which did not produce seed until they were 

 again cross-fertilized with P. orientale, when a perma- 

 nent race of showy plants that grow freely from seeds 

 was obtained." F. W. BurUdge, in Gn. 56, p. 321 (1899). 

 There is no garden monograph of Poppies, but the 

 student may find an account of 38 species in Boissier's 

 Flora Orientalis 1:105-118 (1867). 

 The species are there arranged in 

 3 primary groups, annuals, bi- 

 ennials and perennials. Ordinar- 

 ily this is an excellent arrange- 

 ment for the horticulturist, though 

 not for the botanist. In the case 

 of the Poppies it is not very 

 useful. The duration of several 

 kinds is doubtful, species which 

 are annual in the South behaving 

 as biennials in northern botanic 

 gardens. Moreover, for garden 

 purposes all Poppies are to be 

 treated as annuals for best re- 

 sults, with the exception of P. 

 orientale and bracteatiim, which 

 the gardener thinks of as one 

 group. The Oriental Poppy is, 

 in fact, the only long-lived peren- 

 nial Poppy. The Iceland Poppy 

 may live for several years, but 

 after the third year it usually de- 

 generates. It blooms the first year 

 from seed and the best results 

 are usually secured the second 

 year. 



The following account of Shir- 

 ley Poppies is given by the Rev. 

 W. Wilks in The Garden 57, p. 

 385 : " In 1880, I noticed in a waste 

 corner of my garden, abutting on 

 the fields, a patch of the common . 

 wild field Poppy (Papaver Rhceas), 

 one solitary flower of which 

 had a very narrow edge of white. 

 This one flower I marked and 

 saved the seed of it alone. Next 

 year, out of perhaps two hundred 

 plants, I had four or five 

 on which all the flowers 

 were edged. The best of 

 these were marked and 

 the seed saved, and so 

 on for several years, the 

 flowers all the while get- 

 ting a larger infu- 

 ' sion of white to tone 

 down the red un- 

 til they arrived at 

 quite pale pink and 

 one plant absolute- 

 ly pure white. I 

 then set myself to 

 change the black 

 central portions of 

 the flowers from 

 black to yellow or 

 white, and having 

 at last fixed a strain 

 with petals varying 

 in color from the 

 brightest scarlet to 

 pure white, with all 

 shades of pink between and all varieties of flakes and 

 edged flowers also, but all having yellow or white sta- 

 mens, anthers and pollen, and a white base." * * * Mr. 

 Wilks then distributed it freely to all. "My ideal," he 

 continues, "is to get a yellow P. Rhceas, and I have 

 already obtained many distinct shades of salmon. The 

 Shirley Poppies have thus been obtained simply by 

 selection and elimination. * * * 



Let it be noticed that true Shirley Poppies (1) are 

 single, (2) always have a white base with (3) yellow or 

 white stamens, anthers and pollen, (4) never have the 

 smallest particle of black about them. Double Poppies 

 and Poppies with black centers may be greatly admired 



1637. Oriental Poppy, 

 Papaver orientale (X 1-5). 



by some, but they are not Shirley Poppies. It is rather 

 interesting to reflect that the gardens of the whole 

 werld rich man's and poor man's alike are to-day fur- 

 nished with Poppies which are the direct descendants 

 of one single capsule of seed raised in the garden of 

 the Shirley Vicarage so lately as August, 1880." 



W. M. 



There is no way in which the lover of color in flowers 

 can gratify his taste so cheaply and so fully as by grow- 

 ing a good selection of Poppies. No other flower will 

 make such a gorgeous show in the border during the 

 months of July and the first half of August. To grow 

 the finest Poppies, plant the seed as early in the spring 

 as the ground can be worked. Cover very lightly, for 

 if planted deep the seed does s not germinate. The best 

 way is to make the bed smooth and fine, scatter the 

 seed thinly, then rake gently, and firm the soil well with 

 a board or, better still, with the back of a hoe. When 

 the plants are up 2 or 3 in., thin to 6 in. apart for 

 the weaker growing varieties and 12 in. for the strong 

 growing P. somniferum. Pick all the pods as soon as 

 the petals drop, unless one desires to save seed. This 

 treatment lengthens the blooming season and saves a lot 

 of trouble the next year. The seed is quite hardy, and if 

 left to ripen, the seedlings come up in countless numbers 

 the following spring. An advantage of self-sown seed 

 is that the plants bloom two weeks earlier than if 

 planted in the spring. Poppies must always be planted 

 where they are to bloom, as no annual Poppy will bear 

 transplanting. Poppies are so susceptible to cross-fer- 

 tilization that 'new strains are constantly arising. The 

 ease with which they can be originated has led to much 

 confusion in the seed catalogues. 



P. somniferum, the Opium Poppy, is the commonest 

 kind in cult, and is sufficiently described elsewhere. 



P. Rhwas, the scarlet field Poppy of Great Britain, is 

 the parent of many beautiful forms. Fig. 1638. Of these 

 the best is the Shirley, the loveliest of all Poppies ; the 

 flowers are of the most delicate silky texture and in every 

 imaginable shade and combination of white, pink, and 

 red, with yellow anthers. Var. umbrosum,the Fire Dragon 

 of some catalogues, is dark cardinal, with a black blotch 

 at the base of each petal, and purplish black anthers. 

 P. Icevigatum resembles P. umbrosum, the fls. being the 

 same color, but the black blotch is margined with white 

 and the petals are more upright, not opening out so flat 

 as in P. Rhceas. Sometimes P. Icevigatum comes semi- 

 double, but with this exception all the smaller double 

 Poppies are forms of P. Rhoeas. The ranunculus-fld. has 

 all the gracefulness of the single form, with a wonderful 

 diversity of color, white through pink to the deepest crim- 

 son, and in every degree of doubleness from 2^pr 3 rows 

 of petals to perfectly double. The varieties umbrosum 

 and Shirley show a tendency to come double, though never 

 so completely as the ranunculus-fld. The Rosebud and 

 New Japanese Pompone are selections from the ranun- 

 culus-fid, type. "Golden Gate" is a mixture of P. um- 

 brosum, P.' Icevigatum and P. ranunculi florum in single 

 and double. 



The best of the perennial Poppies are P. nudicaule 

 and orientale. P. nudicaule, the Iceland Poppy, is one 

 of our most desirable perennials. Fig. 1639. If the flowers 

 are cut regularly and no seed-pods allowed to form, it is 

 in bloom from May to October. The fls. are on wiry stalks 

 12 in. or more long, and well adapted for cutting. The 

 colors are white, yellow, and orange-red; they are easily 

 grown from seed, and will bloom the first year if sown 

 early. It is well to grow new plants every second year, 

 as in the colder parts of the country it is subject to 

 winter-killing when the plants get old. 



Very different from the dainty Iceland is the gorgeous 

 Oriental Poppy, one of our most striking and showy gar- 

 den plants. Fig. 1637. The great fls., 6-8 in. across, deep 

 scarlet with a bluish purple base and stamens, are held 

 well above the foliage on stout leafy stalks. Unfortu- 

 nately, the flowering season is short : 2 or 3 weeks in June 

 and their glory is gone. They also are easily grown 

 from seed and are very hardy. P. bracteatum, deeper in 

 color and more robust, is, strictly speaking, a variety of 

 P. orientale. Other varieties have orange, pink, and 

 salmon-colored flowers, but none of them are so effec- 

 tive in the garden border as the type. 

 P. glauc^(,m, the Tulip Poppy, is a weak, spindly 



