Papaver orientale Curlilocks - Oriental Poppy

Papaver orientale 'Curlilocks' is a brand new variety of Oriental Poppy that is still relatively uncommon in France. Its enormous red-orange silky corollas with black-spotted throats, intensely fringed, are as original as they are spectacular. They bloom in late spring or early summer, carried on tall stems, dominating with their splendor a feathery foliage of luxuriant and somewhat disordered fern in the flower beds. A common inhabitant of well-tended gardens, Oriental poppy is a hardy perennial and very easy to grow in all good deep soils, in the sun.

Papaver orientale is a herbaceous perennial of the Papaveraceae family, native to Asia. The 'Curlilocks' cultivar (sometimes spelled Curly Locks) is a robust and very recent cultivar derived from this species. The plant has sturdy floral stems about 70 cm (28in) tall. It forms a bushy clump reaching 40 cm (16in) in height (for the foliage) and 60 cm (24in) wide. Flowering begins in June and continues into July, usually halted by heat and drought. Each floral stem carries at its tip a single pendulous bud that turns towards the sky, giving birth to a very large flower, about 15 cm (6in) in diameter, with petals finely cut into strips, almost to the center. The petals are red-orange and maculated with black at the heart of the corolla. The flower remains open for a few hours before dropping its petals. Established plants produce several floral stems, ensuring the renewal of flowers for about 3 weeks. After flowering, the foliage tends to disappear, leaving room in autumn for a small basal rosette, which is indicative of adaptation to high temperatures and summer drought. This plant has large rough, deeply cut and villous leaves, dark green in color. The fleshy and deep roots of this Oriental poppy do not tolerate transplantation well, especially in mature plants. In dry climates, the plant completely disappears from the surface of the soil in summer. 

Oriental poppies, with their giant poppy-like flowers, are equally at ease in sophisticated flower beds as in cottage gardens or country-style compositions. Combine them with wormwoods, lavenders, asters, tall daisies, thistles, and nepetas with simple and naive blooms. They also beautifully accompany autumn stonecrops whose foliage develops during the summer, Damask roses, and cosmos for a summery atmosphere with soft colors. In any case, accompany them with perennials as they will fill the space left empty after flowering. The fruits of poppies, often decorative, sometimes find their way into dried bouquets.