Himalayan Blue Poppy

The legendary blue poppy. I became enamored with this plant, when I found it online. From everything I read it was difficult to grow, and pretty much not to bother. Undeterred, and with very little knowledge about this plant at the time I bought some seed. I was able to germinate the seed, but made a few mistakes. I used a heating pad which is a big no no, and also it was warm for the plant where I had the plant tray. The last thing I messed up even though did have it in moist well drained soil like everyone says to do is I never misted the plants to help keep them cool. So lets talk about the blue poppy.

Blue poppies are not poppies at all they belong to the meconopsis family they are called poppies due to their close resemblance to them.

When people refer to the blue poppy they are usually referring to either Meconopsis Bailyeii or Meconopsis Lingholm. Meconopsis Lingholm is the most reliably perennial. They grow around 3 feet tall and should be planted in part shade or shade, and bloom in June and July.

They grow in the Himalayas typically along stream banks, in a woodland type of soil. All of this is important being a cool weather plant, plant it in partial share or shade. Now having a moist well draining soil is important having moist wet air is just as important if not more so. Blue poppies are covered in a bunch of fine hairs the hairs are what capture the moisture in the air along those stream banks which helps keep those plants cool. Here at the nursery we put the our watering nozzle on mist, and go over the plant especially on those hot days. The soil should be at least slightly acidic think what you plant rhododendron or azaleas in if it's slightly more alkaline soil you'll see some more purple in the flower. Here we add small stone or sharp sand if the soil isn't free draining enough, as well as leaf mould which helps give the soil good structure as well as that woodland type of soil.

Blue poppies are a challenging, but worthwhile plant to grow, but the reward of getting this plant to flower is well worth it.