Poppies burst into a hard-to-resist red

Red. It’s a color in the garden some love and others avoid. “I just don’t like anything red. I stick with pinks, blues and purples,” we’ve heard gardeners say time and again.

But then there’s the irresistible red of the corn poppy, botanically known as Papaver rhoeas. A gardener would be hard-pressed to find a red more scarlet than the corn poppy. It is undeniably beautifully, even for those who avoid use of the color in their gardens.

The delicate, tissue-paper-thin petals of corn poppy dance on the slightest breeze. Up close, the petals look as though they are made of satin or silk. Some corn poppy plants produce flowers that are a solid red, from the innermost portion of the petal to its light-as-a-feather tip. Many produce a gorgeous, deep black “eye” at the center of the flower, while on others, a dainty white edges edge each of the four individual petals that make up the whole flower. Regardless of their individual coloration, these delicate plants function as a magnet for butterflies all season long.

Like many in the family, once grown in the garden, corn poppies will come back time and again without the assistance of the gardener. The corn poppy is annual, yet is such a prolific seeder that it offers itself in abundance through volunteers that crop up. Typically difficult to transplant, this poppy produces striking volunteer plants if seed is on the soil surface in spring. Seedlings germinate surprisingly soon after the ground has thawed.

Speaking of volunteer seedlings, meet my neighbor Constance, Queen of Poppies. This wonderful gardener somewhat unknowingly grew the most stunning collection of lavender poppies you can imagine.

In her little greenhouse dedicated to extending the growing season for greens, poppy seeds arrived with the media Constance placed in her raised beds.

Slowly, as the winter greens passed this spring, the poppy’s silvery-green leaves emerged. Deeply curled, fringed-edge leaves grew to a height of 3 feet or so, and plump buds opened in early July to the most shocking and beautiful lavender blooms. Some of the flowers were single, with pretty light purple petals that greeted the viewer by waving slightly in the breeze. Others appeared more rugged, sporting blossoms that were fully double, with an outer ring of simple flat petals and an inner cluster of deeply-pressed-together petals that made the flowers look like they were large pom-poms.

“Let me give you some seed,” Constance said. Her generosity placed me with a lifetime supply of seed, carefully taken directly from her freezer in a large, airtight container. Their abundance is so great I’d be happy to spread them around as long as the supply lasts: Simply send me a self-addressed stamped envelope to the address below.

Some gardeners call these poppies “peony flowered” because they do take on the appearance of the classic old-fashioned peony in form. Although my dear neighbor’s specimens were purple, these pretty plants may produce flowers that are red, pink, salmon, maroon or white, too. Fact is, there are more than 70 species of annual, biennial and perennial poppies and not one of them in anything less that absolutely gorgeous.

If you’ve had trouble growing poppies in the past, consider this: poppies prefer to grow in deep, fertile, well-drained soil, in full sun. Enrich your soil if it has a tendency to be poor, stony or damp with the addition of composted leaf litter, composted manure and-or peat.

Rather than attempt surmounting the transplanting process, broadcast seed over the area in which you wish to grow poppies in spring as soon as the danger of frost has passed. For perennial poppies, divide plants in spring or make additional plants through root cuttings in autumn. Some poppies, such as the Oriental poppy, undergo a period of summer dormancy, so when placing them within your garden design, be sure to plant these specimens among other plants that will provide cover in summer.

Diana George Chapin is the NEWS garden columnist. Send horticulture questions to Gardening Questions, 512 North Ridge Road, Montville 04941 or e-mail dianagc@midcoast.com. Selected questions will be answered in future columns. Include name, address and telephone number.