Eschscholzia californica Cream Swirl - California poppy seeds

This 'Cream Swirl' Californian Poppy is a variety of Eschscholzia californica with fully double flowers, in a soft cream, almost cream yellow colour. Its very pleated and wavy, silky petals resemble a paper flower or a gathered skirt. The plant is low-growing and its particularly short stems are perfect for small, short-lived but beautiful flower arrangements. It is moderately hardy, self-seeds very easily in light soil and tolerates heat, drought, and poor soils.

The 'Cream Swirl' Californian Poppy is a selection obtained from Eschscholzia californica, a short-lived perennial native to California and the southwest of the United States. There, this plant covers vast areas such as plains or rocky wild, very sunny meadows close to sequoia forests. Not very resistant to heavy frost in wet soil, it is perfectly adapted to dry and hot climates, easy to grow as an annual in all regions. Like all poppies, it belongs to the papaveraceae family.

This plant with a taproot quickly forms a clump of foliage about 25 cm (10in) in all directions. Its leaves are pinnate, finely divided and bluish-green to grey-green, which perfectly enhances the colour of the flowers. Flowering takes place from spring to summer, depending on the sowing date, even until November in Mediterranean climates. In the middle of its foliage, it produces cup-shaped, double flowers with a finely pleated texture, reflecting the sun. They open up more in full sun. Their very soft colour ranges from cream to pale yellow or ivory to pale yellow. The flowering is nectar-rich and followed by long, slender, glaucous green, 7 to 8 cm (3in) long seed heads, containing tiny seeds.

Californian poppies are happy in poor, dry soils, rockeries and coastal areas. They are versatile and can be sown in pots or flower beds, in natural areas, and in low-maintenance gardens. 'Cream Swirl' nicely complements the light blue of perennial flax, Forget-me-nots, or the beautiful Catananche caerulea. It also makes a lovely combination with the purples and mauves of stocks or Verbena. It is a very pretty cut flower, even if it is not very long-lasting.