Papaver nudicaule seed
LATIN NAME: Papaver nudicaule
COMMON NAME: Iceland Poppy
Few garden flowers carry their petals as lightly as the Iceland poppy. The fine, paper-thin, silky petals rise on slender, hairy stems above a rosette of soft, grey-green, deeply cut leaves, and the flowers come in the palest yellows, oranges, creams and whites. It is a short-lived but generous plant of the cool, sunny border, and it keeps a steady run of open flowers from the late spring through the summer. The nodding buds straighten as they open, and the little, round seed capsules follow, holding a dust of very fine seed.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
Plant scientists keep coming back to the Iceland poppy for the fine, paper-thin petals and the curious way the flower buds straighten before they open. It sits in the studies of the cool-climate perennials and the short-lived garden plants, and the seed has a long, careful record in the old collections of the region. The grey-green, deeply cut leaves and the slender, hairy stems have also made it a regular subject of the work on the hardy border plants, and the poppy family as a whole keeps drawing the attention of the researchers who study the flower colour and the seed dormancy.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
People grow the Iceland poppy for the long, easy run of the silky, paper-thin flowers. It is a fine, dependable filler of the cool, sunny border, the rock garden and the large container, and the flowers are a favourite of the cut-flower growers for the simple, elegant stems. The little seed capsules follow the flowers and scatter their fine seed around the garden, so a few plants keep the show going year after year. It has been written up in the horticultural papers for its fine, silky petals and its easy, generous ways, and it is a fine, hardy plant of the cool, sunny garden.
Iceland poppies belong to the cool, sunny gardens of the north, and they have been a favourite of the old rockeries and the cottage borders for a very long time. The fine, hairy stems and the grey-green, deeply cut leaves give the plant a delicate, airy look, and the nodding buds are one of the small pleasures of the spring border.
To grow the Iceland poppy from seed, sow the very fine seed over the surface of pots of moist, free-draining soil and do not cover it, since it germinates in the light, keep it in a bright, cool, open spot and water gently. The seedlings come up in a few weeks and grow on steadily. With the sun and the cool, well-drained ground, the silky, paper-thin flowers will be there through the summer.
Iceland Poppy, Papaver Nudicaule. This biennial self-seeds reliably, finding the places where it likes to grow, so that you will have flowers year after year. Like most self-sown poppies, it tends to appear in broken or newly dug ground. Poppies make striking, sunlit accents in the vegetable garden (in our garden, they like the strawberry patch.) Our mixture includes solid orange, yellow, and white flowers, as well as intermediate shades (white with an orange or yellow blush). Plants will bloom from spring through late summer. Cutting off finished stems may promote further blooming. Cut, don’t pull, the stems, as the leaf rosettes detach easily from the crown.
Seeds of these hardy perennials/biennials are collected in 2018 & 2017 from the plants shown, grown in Edmonton, Canada, zone 3 (to -35C). All of these plants grow well in full sun or light shade in ordinary garden soil. They grow best where the soil is deeply dug, quick-draining and nutrient-rich.
Stored cool and dry, seeds can remain viable for several years.
Poppy seeds germinate in two weeks at room temperature. Sow thinly in trays or sow two or three seeds to a cell or peat pellet. Press seeds into moist potting mix. Do not bury the seeds, except with a thin layer of sand. Keep moist.
Small poppy seedlings can be tricky to transplant. If potting seedlings, do so when they are large enough to lift by the leaves; dig up carefully, keeping as much soil as possible with the roots. Keep transplants watered and out of direct sun until they are growing again.
Move small plants into the garden on a cloudy day, and/or erect a shade or screen (e.g. a tomato cage covered with a towel) to protect them from drying heat until they are settled and showing new growth. Larger pot-grown plants can be transplanted relatively easily.
Iceland poppies can be started in pots or sown directly into the garden. If started early enough, they may flower in the first year, but, being a biennial, they will typically produce a rosette of leaves in the first year and flowers in the second.
Iceland is a very long lasting cut flower. A hardy perennial in flower gardens. Either way, they self sow readily, so will last for years at a time. The large, cup shaped blooms have a texture like crepe paper and appear in a range of beautiful colors.
Growing Iceland poppies in the spring bed is a great way to add delicate foliage and long-lasting flowers to the area. When planted in the right spot, the Iceland poppy plant blooms from May through July.
Plant seeds of the Iceland poppy plant in fall or spring. Seed directly into the flower bed that will be the permanent location of the Iceland poppy flower, as growing Iceland poppies do not transplant well. There is no need to cover the seeds; the Iceland poppy plant needs light to germinate in spring. Mark the area, if necessary, so you don’t mistake the spring foliage for a weed.