THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



75 



Alpine and Iceland Poppies 



ALMOST every old-fashioned garden 

 has Iceland poppies in it, but only a 

 connoisseur in floriculture knows the true 

 Alpine poppy. The botanists consider the 

 Alpine poppy as merely a variety of the Ice- 

 land poppv, but for horticultural purposes it 

 is important that thev should be regarded as 

 separate species. While it is true that both 

 types can be secured in the same range of 

 colors, the Arctic species is typically a yellow 

 flower, while that of the European Alps is 

 typically a white flower; and, moreover, there 

 is a radical difference in methods of culti- 

 vation. The Iceland poppy is easy to grow 

 in the ordinary border or garden, while the 

 Alpine poppy must, have rock-garden treat- 

 ment, and therefore its usefulness is much 

 more limited. If we exclude the California 

 poppy, which does not belong to the same 

 genus as the common or opium poppy, the 

 most splendid yellow flowers of the poppy 

 genus are to be found in the Iceland species. 

 While it is down in the books as a perennial 

 species, it is a rather short-lived perennial, 

 and is commonly treated as an annual, or 

 rather the seed is sown everv second vear. 

 Often, in localities where the Iceland poppy 

 is fairly permanent, it will pay to sow seeds 

 every year or two, because more and better 

 flowers are secured in this way. Many peo- 

 ple complain that the common or opium 

 poppies are useless for cut flowers because 

 they shed their petals so quickly. This 

 objection cannot be made to the Iceland 

 poppy, especially if the young flowers are 

 selected and cut in the early morning, a prin- 

 ciple which applies to many flowers that are 

 not ordinarily considered to be available for 

 decoration. If the flowers are cut regularlv 

 and promptly, so that no seed capsules are 

 allowed to form, this species will remain in 

 bloom from May to October. The Iceland 

 poppy will bloom the first year from seed if 

 started indoors during March. 



The beautiful Alpine poppies pictured on 

 this page are probably the first examples of 

 this species to be photographically illustrated 

 in America. They grew last year in the famous 

 rock-gardens of Mrs. H. L. Higginson, at 

 Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass. What induce- 

 ment is there to grow Alpine poppies, par- 

 ticularly as the flowers are somewhat smaller 

 than those of the Iceland poppv? The 

 answer is that the Alpine poppy belongs to 

 the dainty and delicate type of beauty, 

 whereas the Iceland poppy is of the strong 

 and bold type. The Iceland poppy is espe- 



cially good for vivid masses of yellow and 

 orange, while the Alpine poppy is chiefly to 

 be admired for its white and pink forms. 

 The color range in both species includes the 

 above-mentioned shades as well as pale 

 yellow and a bright rose verging upon red, 

 but never deepening to the intense blood-red 

 of the corn poppy of Europe. 



While the Alpine poppy can hardly be 

 expected to succeed in a border, it is an easy 

 subject for the rock garden. So far as we 

 know, it does better in a rather poor soil, and 

 of course it must have excellent drainage. 

 All Alpine plants require perfect drainage, 

 and that is what a rockery is for. Both the 

 Alpine and Iceland poppies ought to have 

 full exposure to the sun. 



Botanically, the poppy of the European 

 Alps (Papaver alpinum) is generally regarded 

 as an extreme form of the Iceland poppy 

 {Papaver midicaule), being differentiated by 



its dwarfer habit and more finely divided 

 foliage. In one of the pocket guides to the 

 wild flowers of the Alps there is a colored 

 print of the x\lpine poppy showing a white 

 flower. The author (Correvon) states that 

 there is also a yellow-flowered variety which 

 is found on the granitic Alps, from which it 

 seems a fair inference that the white flower 

 ranges over the limestone or calcareous Alps. 

 Since it is impossible to draw a color-line 

 between the varieties of the two species 

 (P. midicaule and alpinum), the following 

 distinctions are given. The Iceland poppy is 

 a more robust plant, with the divisions of the 

 leaves entire or sparingly cleft, while those 

 of the Alpine poppy are cut into many fine 

 and narrow secondary divisions. The seed 

 pods or capsules of the Iceland poppies are 

 short, thick and roundish, while those 

 of the Alpine are longer and narrower and 

 more nearly club-shaped. W. M. 



123. Alpine poppies. They are while, pale red, orange. pinK or salmon 



