Field Poppy

Papaver rhoeas

• Position: full sun
• Soil: well-drained, preferably poor soil
• Rate of growth: average
• Flowering period: June to August
• Hardiness: fully hardy
  
  Once a common sight in cornfields, this brilliant red field poppy is perfect for a sunny wildflower garden or meadow, where it will self-seed freely. Profits from these seeds are used to protect existing wildflower areas and develop new sites where wildflowers can grow. In folklore field poppies were believed to cause thunderstorms.
  
  
• Garden care: When sowing seeds do not use a fertiliser since wildflowers prefer poor soils. In autumn after flowering cut the faded flower-heads down to the ground and compost the dead stems.
  
  
• Goes well with: Knautia arvensis, Cardamine pratensis, Lonicera pericymenum, Briza media, Fritillaria meleagris, Crataegus monogyna.