oriental poppy

Water Oriental Poppies regularly, providing them with 1 inch of water per week. Make sure the soil is moist but not soggy. Water at the base of the plant in the morning or early afternoon. Reduce watering in the winter when the plants are dormant. The Oriental Poppies have a tendency to go dormant before their bloom period, so extra water should not be provided during this period.

Oriental poppies need between 4 and 6 hours of direct sunlight per day, preferably in the morning or late afternoon. They can tolerate some shade during midday, but too much shade acan cause the stems to weaken and the flowers to be less vibrant. When planting oriental poppies in a garden or flower bed, it should be placed in a spot that will receive morning sunlight and be shielded from the hottest part of the day. Additionally, the soil should be well-drained as oriental poppies don’t tolerate wet feet.

Oriental poppies should be pruned lightly in the late spring after blooming. Prune back only the stems that have finished flowering. Remove the seedpods and deadheads of the spent blooms. Cut the flowering stems down to about 2 inches above the ground. Deadheading will help the poppy to produce new vigorous stems for possible reblooming. In the late autumn, cut back all the foliage and stems down to 2 inches above the ground level and remove all the dead foliage. Be careful not to prune too drought or the plant may not have enough foliage to produce new blooms the next season.