Papaver orientale May Queen - Oriental Poppy

The Oriental Poppy 'May Queen' is a spreading variety of Oriental Poppy that can form beautiful colonies when it is happy. Its semi-double, medium-sized flowers are produced abundantly in May-June. Their crinkled petals are a solid orange-red color, without spots, arranged around a black center. The particularly silver stems and flower buds create a refined combination with the flower color. This very generous plant is easy to grow in all good garden soils, in the sun, and its flowers, when picked in bud stage, are stunning in bouquets.

The Oriental Poppy is a herbaceous perennial plant in the Papaveraceae family, native to Asia. The cultivar 'May Queen' is a horticultural selection derived from this plant. This poppy has solid, silver-haired stems that are approximately 60 cm (24in) tall. It forms a bushy clump that quickly expands. Flowering begins in May-June and sometimes continues into July, usually halted by heat and drought. Each flower stem bears a single, pendulous bud covered in silver hairs, turning upwards to reveal a flower that is approximately 12 cm (5in) in diameter, with crinkled petals arranged in 2 rows, in a very vibrant orange-red color. The flower remains open for a few hours before dropping its petals. Established plants produce multiple flower stems, ensuring a succession of flowers for about 3 weeks. After flowering, the foliage tends to disappear, leaving a small basal rosette in autumn, which is characteristic of adaptation to high temperatures and summer drought. This plant has broad, rough, and hairy leaves, giving them a very decorative gray-blue hue. Pruning after flowering promotes the formation of new, highly ornamental foliage.

Oriental poppies are equally at home in sophisticated flower beds as they are in cottage gardens or wildflower compositions. Their hairy and somewhat disheveled foliage forms a lush, bluish-green clump that stands out in flower beds. Pair them with artemisias, lavender, asters, and nepetas with light flowerings. They also beautifully complement autumn stonecrops, whose foliage develops during summer, as well as damask daisies and cosmos for a summer ambiance with soft colors. In any case, accompany them with perennials as they will fill the space left empty after flowering. They can also be paired with Thermopsis, lupins, and carnations at the edge of a flower bed.