1206 



PAPAVER 



hybrids of which did not produce seed until thev were 

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

 nent race of showy plants that grow freely from seeds 

 wa^ obtained." F. W. Burhidge, in Gn. 56, p. 321 (1899). 

 There is no garden monograph of Poppies, but the 

 student may find an account of .'IS specii's in Boi.ssier's 



A# W'rA 



1^11807). 

 umedin 



"■:>■■> ,■.. ,, ,. , :,,,u, bi. 



l--^ :ii''l I" •■ MMiu- I inlinar- 



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 

 lie annual in the South behaving 

 IS biennials in northern botanic 

 „ irilens. Moreover, for garden 



'I "^ all Poppies are to be 



'''•' 1-; annuals for best re- 

 iili the exception of P. 

 ' '" and bracteafum, which 

 I u K.ii.luuer thinks of as one 

 The Oriental Poppy is, 



may live for 



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 ot the common 

 wild field Poppy (P,//i«(erjff7i«'as), 

 one solitarv Howr-r nf which 



..f white. 



■k'll and 



hundred 

 plants. I had four or five 

 on which all the flowers 

 were edged. The best of 

 these were marked and 

 seed saved, and so 

 on for several vears, the 

 flowers all the while get- 

 ting a larger infu- 

 te to tone 



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 

 of flakes and 



1637. Oriental Poppy. 

 Papaver orientale (X 1-5). 



shades of pink between and all 



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 

 bhirley Poppies have thus been obtained simply bv 

 selection and elimination. • » • »- j . 



.i.^Ji* ''^"^ "oti'^ed that true Shirley Poppies fl) are 

 single, (2) alwaj-s 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 greativ admired 



by some, 

 interestiri 

 werld-rii 

 nished « 

 of one Ml 

 the Shiil. 



are not Shirley Poppies. It is rather 

 ' ■' that the gardens of the whole 



" \ rman's alike -are to-day fur- 



<i"-n are the direct descendants 

 I seed raised in the garden of 

 ^■- .' lately as August, 1880." 



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

 can gratify his taste so cheaply and so fully as bv g7ow 

 mfl ;' f °1 "'''r""" "^ ^'''I'pies. No other flowe? will 



iii'i'i 'l ^"' ' '' -'"'^''""■'^ ^hl.w iij the border during the 



" ', •- "'•,"'■' ■""' ''"' hr-i h.'ilf "f August. To grow 



.J ■ " ■ "I'l'M -. I'laiit ihr ,,., ,1 :,s early in the spring 



it"uhl'i,t7.',l",i'.!l„'',T' "";^-"l- ' "ver very lightly, for 

 II piaiiiL-a deep tli. -i , ,] ,|,„- i,,,i urrminate The best 



Sl^lt^;.!::,':;: -,:- 



«f ^^u;'.''.,;;;\;::j--v-^,j'^ 



IrnJ^ P S™^'?S ^'^•■i^ties and 12 in. for the"^ strong 

 growing />somn,^er«m. Pick all the pods as soon a! 

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

 nftT^^ lengthens the blooming season and saves a lot 

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

 eft to npen, the seedlings come up in countless numbers 

 i. th f T"^ fP""!"^;,, ^'°- 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 Pbppy will beir 

 transplanting. Poppies are so susceptible to cross-fer- 

 tuization that new strains arc constantly arising The 

 ease with which they can be originated has led to much 

 confusion in the seed catalogues. 



P. somtiiferum the Opium Poppy, is the commonest 

 kind in cult, and is sufficiently described elsewhere 



P. Bltcpas. the scarlet field Poppv <if (ireat Britijn is 

 theparentof many beautiful f.iriiis ■ Fi- lii's (ifti|,'..e 

 the best is the Shirley, the I.. x.li.M ,,t~,'ll r,,i,,,i,.. ,he 

 flowers are of the mostdelieat. -ilky tr \tin. ai'^l in ,viry 

 imaginable shade and coml.inati.,,', ,,f xihitc i.ink md 

 red, with yellow anthers. Var. um ft.-o.siuii .the Fire Drairon 

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

 at the base of each petal, and purplish black anthers 

 P. lavigatum resembles P. ■umbroauin. thv (!■< l.einL' the 

 same color, but the black blotch is marj.-ii,. ,1 witli white 

 and the petals are more upright, not <ip, mir' ...it -,• fl-.t 

 as in P. Jiliwtts. Sometimes P. l(Ffi,,ai„i„ . . m, , ., mi- 

 double, but with this exception all tlic Minll.i .ImuMc 

 Poppies are forms of P. ^Sffos. The ranun. ui,,. n.i ],.,,, 

 all the gracefulness of the single forui, w nh a w "),(!. rlul 

 diversityof color, white through pink t..th. .1. . i , -t , rmi- 

 son, and in every degree of doublen.-- ti. m l mt ; i -ws 

 of petals to perfectly double. The vari. ti< -, iinihr:-siim 

 and Shirley .show a tendency to come double though never 

 so completely as the ranunculus-fld. The Rosebud and 

 Mew Japanese Pompone are selections from the ranun- 

 culus-fld. type. "Golden Gate" is a miNture of P um- 

 brosiim, P. lavigahim and P. r,n,„„,„i;n„nim in sinele 

 and double. ' *• 



The best of the perennial I'.ii:|,i, ^ ar. /■ unrlirniiU 



and orientale. P. midicani, . il,. Ir, I I I'ni.pv is one 



of ourmostdesirable perennial-, i,.-. i, ;:;•.. H rhe'flowers 

 are cut regularly and no sefil|M„^ all,,!,, ,1 t,. form it is 

 in bloom from May to October. Ih. iN, ar, ,,ii wiry stalks 

 12 in. or more long, and well .MJai,!,,! l,,r , uitiiig The 

 colors are white, yellow, ami cran^'. r,-.l: tlj.v are easily 

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

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

 as in the colder parts of the country it is subiect 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. Pig. 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. glaucum, the Tulip Poppy, is a weak, spindly 



