Plants & Profits: Oriental poppies

Suggest Oriental poppies when customers ask for . . .

• A perennial they can use as a cut flower
• Something to add color to the garden in early summer
• A perennial for a full-sun garden
• An “old fashioned” garden flower
• A perennial that’s easy to grow
   

{The story}
Papaver (poppies) are annual, biennial or herbaceous perennial plants prized for their beautiful crepe paper-like flowers and often their medicinal properties. Records from 5,000 B.C. in Mesopotamia and Egypt indicate that poppies were already being grown as ornamental plants. In modern times numerous species are considered indispensable to the early summer garden. The most well known poppy is probably the Oriental poppy, Papaver orientale. It’s an easy-to-grow perennial that should find a home in any sunny, well-drained garden. Culture and history information courtesy of Plant Publicity Holland. Read more at www.PerennialandNurseryNews.com.
 

Display and marketing possibilities

• Cross merchandise poppies with appropriate “filler” plants. The Oriental poppy is known as a summer ephemeral. For the gardener this means it’s necessary to plan the garden so there are fairly large companions planted nearby that will fill in the empty space as the poppies go dormant. The ideal marketing season for poppies is spring and fall. Consumer education is necessary to prevent returns of “dying” (dormant) plants.
• Include Oriental poppies in a display of perennials suitable to use as cut flowers. Include handouts describing how the stems need to be cauterized to stop the flow of their milky sap before placing in a vase.