Papaver ‘Central Park’ Poppy Bulb

Papaver ‘Central Park’ Poppy is an herbaceous perennial that blooms in late spring to summer, with attractive black seedpods extending the season of interest. Free flowering, the long-lived plant sets large 5- to 6-inch flowers with a velvet-black seed capsule surrounded by purple stamens and satiny heavily ruffled petals saturated in a lavender-purple hue and marked at the base with dark purple. Borne singly on long, bristly stems, the showy cup-shaped blooms attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds to the garden and make lovely cut flowers, if stems are singed before placing it in water.

A Papaver orientale cultivar, commonly called oriental poppy, ‘Central Park’ has a clumping, spreading habit of hairy, thistle-like grey-green leaves that give the plant an airy appearance. Poppies makes lovely specimens or container plants but are shown to best effect when grouped or massed in mixed beds and borders.

Oriental poppies grow best in a sunny location with organically rich, fertile, medium moist, well-draining soil. They are intolerant of drought and overly wet, poorly drained soils. Cold hardy, the plants prefer cool summer climates, do not perform well in high heat and humidity, and may require some light afternoon shade in hot summer climates. Deadheading spent flowers keeps poppies blooming. The flowers freely self-seed in suitable conditions, naturalizing and returning from year to year; however, new plants may not be true. Deer resistant.