Oriental Poppy
Question:
I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to gardening. I absolutely adore poppies and I bought an Oriental poppy plant in the summer and planted it in my front garden. It flowered fine in the summer but into the autumn the last couple of heads turned black and failed to flower. I have about six heads on it now, but as they grow in size the same thing is happening again, they begin to turn black and do not open. I'm gutted! Do you know what this is and if I can treat it? How wonderful it would have been to have had a splash of red in winter!
Answer:
The Oriental poppy is a late spring / summer flowering plant which begins to die back in autumn. I'm afraid you won't see this one flowering during the winter but it will come back next summer. Cut back any growth which is left and cover it with a layer of compost to keep it snug. If you fancy something red which will last until about the end of November; you can't go wrong with Dahlias. There are lots of red varieties around. You can buy and plant them as plants during the summer or buy corms which you can plant as soon as the soil is warm enough. Once they are in you just need to cut them down in December and cover with a mulch to enjoy them the following year. Most garden centres sell them but if you want to buy online try Crocus.co.uk. You will find a link on the Features Sites page on my site.
Similar Articles:
- Instant Colour in Containers - Question:I have just had a new patio laid and would like to know which container flowers/plants I can buy for an instant effect rather than having to wait until next spring for resultsAnswer:At this time of year there are lots of plants flowering now, some of which will continue through to the first frosts others ...
- Heathers - Question:I have recently bought some of the pretty flowering heathers you see at this time of year but know little about them I did hear that they need to be planted I the special compost you use for azaleas and rhododendrons also how long do they flower for I am told the ones you see ...
- Clematis Montana - Question:I have a clematis Montana which I bought last year. This year it has flowered for the first time. I have it in a container on a south facing wall. It has very few flowers. Have I done something wrong with it? Also I have a passionflower, in its second year also. It looks very ...
