Battle Creek, Mich. 
ORIENTAL POPPIES 
ORIENTAL POPPIES 
We have the honor to be a member of a volunteer national committee, organized 
in 1932, for the classification and scoring of named Oriental Poppies. The original 
committee consisted of the late Dr. J. H. Neeley, for many years the peer of 
American poppy hybridizers, Mr. Karl K. Lorenz and Mr. John D. Siebenthaler, of 
Dayton, Ohio, and the writer. The results of the committee’s work will appear from 
time to time in various gardening publications. 
We believe that the vogue of the Oriental Poppy is just beginning; that when 
its ease of culture, its wide color range and striking charm are better appreciated, 
the demand will far exceed any commercial supply that now exists. We believe that 
our list of nearly 200 named varieties of Oriental Poppies is the largest offered by 
any grower in this country. 
Plant Oriental Poppies in your garden and enjoy a thrill that perhaps you have 
never before experienced. 
“For dazzling barbaric splendor, the great Oriental Poppies are absolutely 
unrivaled. ” The stamens of Poppies are said to be the most beautiful stamens of 
all flowers. The gigantic flowers sometimes reach a diameter of 12 inches or more, 
while a diameter of 9 to 10 inches is common. 
Says Dr. Neeley: “Varying from red to orange, salmon to pink, mulberry to 
white, this barbaric flower offers a wide range of colors, is free, from disease, very 
hardy and easy to transplant. Among the family as a whole, there is none so regal 
as the Oriental Poppy. “ 
Many new hybrid varieties have been introduced in recent years, greatly 
extending the color range and showing much improvement in habit and form. 
In large gardens, Oriental Poppies should be planted by hundreds or even 
thousands, either alone or combined with other material, to achieve bold landscape 
effects of startling originality and charm. 
100 plants in 10 or more different varieties, without labels, will be sent by 
express collect for only $10.00. 
CULTURE 
The chief requirement of this most striking plant is that it should be moved 
only after the beginning of the dormant season about the 15th of July, and from 
then until the ground freezes in the fall. It is important in transplanting that the 
plant be set deep enough to place the crowns three inches below the surface. It is 
well also, to set the plants at an angle of 45 degrees or more so that water will not 
be trapped by the hollow crowns of large plants. After planting, the ground should 
not be allowed to dry out before the roots become established. After the ground 
freezes, a light covering of straw or coarse litter should be placed over the ground 
to prevent the plants from being heaved out by alternate freezing and thawing 
which, in our experience, is the most common cause of winter killing. Plants also 
may be killed by planting where water will stand over the crowns in winter, or by 
cutting off the crowns after growth starts in the spring. Direct contact of air or of 
water with the crowns are the most frequent causes of failure with poppies. Special 
care should be taken immediately after the blooming season to see that exposed 
crowns are well covered with fresh earth. 
The plants like full sun, but do well in partial shade, especially certain of the 
darker colored varieties. Plant about two feet apart. 
With careful attention, spring planting of Oriental Poppies up to May 1 usually 
proves successful. 
SIZE OF PLANTS 
Prices except as noted are for LARGE, FIELD GROWN PLANTS, AT LEAST 
TWO YEARS FROM PROROGATION. Some nurseries claim pot-grown plants 
give entirely satisfactory results. Other extensive nurseries agree with us that they 
are much inferior, and that large, field-grown plants not only are much more likely 
to live and grow well, but also that in the great majority of cases they bloom earlier 
and more generously. 
The wonderful blooms make excellent cut flowers if the freshly cut stems 
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