Oriental Poppy Fruit Punch Seeds - Papaver orientale

This gorgeous mix of oriental poppies, christened Papaver orientale Fruit Punch, produce huge, crumpled silk flowers come in many, often elusive shades of red, pink, orange, or plum. They are all adorned with a large black centres, densely packed with stamens, and rise vigorously above a very ornamental dark green foliage. They are long-lasting and very hardy plants that are to be sown in sunny beds. Their attractive fruit appears at the end of the season and is perfect for dried flower bouquets. 

Papaver orientale or Oriental Poppy is a herbaceous perennial of the papaveraceae family that is native to Asia. The 'Fruit Punch' mix includes several varieties including 'Coral Reef', that come in a wide range of colours: from pink to purple. This plant has sturdy stems of about 60 to 75 cm in height. It forms a bushy clump of up to 40 cm high (for the foliage) and 30 cm wide. Flowering starts at the beginning of June and continues throughout July, usually halting with the heat and drought. Each floral spike bears a single nodding bud at its tip that turns towards the sky, giving rise to a large, single flower, about 12 cm in diameter. The slightly crumpled petals glint with a silky sheen and surround a broad, protruding, almost black centre. The flower remains in full bloom for a few hours before dropping its petals. Well-established plants produce several flower stems, ensuring the renewal of the flowers for about 3 weeks. Once flowering is over, the foliage tends to disappear, giving way in autumn to a small basal rosette, which is a typical feature of adaptation to high temperatures and summer drought. This plant has large, rough, cut leaves that are covered with hairs which give them a very decorative grey-blue sheen. The deep, fleshy roots of this oriental poppy do not tolerate transplanting, especially those of adult plants. Sowing directly gives good results.

An excellent plant for flower beds, oriental poppy 'Fruit Punch' blooms during a slow period for most plants (between spring and summer flowering). It goes very well with the anise green colours of Euphorbia cyparissias or Alchemilla mollis. Oriental poppies are just as at home in sophisticated flower beds as they are in monastic gardens or more rural schemes. Combine them with the airy blooms of sagebrush, lavender, asters and catnips. They also go beautifully with stonecrops who develop their foliage during the summer, love-in-a-mist and cosmos, creating together a soft-coloured, summery atmosphere. In any case, combine them with perennials since they will fill the space left empty by their last blooms. They are also tough and undemanding plants, capable of living in poor, stony soils that dry out in the summer.