• Eventual height: 0.9m
  • Eventual spread: 0.5m

Papaver somniferum 'Hungarian Blue'

opium poppy

approx 500 seeds £2.99
SD30001012
£2.99
Quantity
Delivery options
  • Seed Packets (only) £2.95
  • Named Day £10.95
  • Position: Full sun
  • Soil: Moderately fertile, moist, well-drained soil
  • Rate of growth: Average
  • Flowering period: June to August
  • Hardiness: Hardy annual


  • This heirloom variety was originally grown for its seed, but its flowers soon caught the gardener's eye. Despite its name, the flowers are more purple than blue, but they are exquisite, opening from bud like crumpled silk, and then quickly forming generous bowl-shaped flowers. After the petals fall, what remains is an attractive seedpod, which can later be harvested for dried arrangements.


  • Garden care:
    These poppies tend to resent root disturbance, so plant or sow them in situ. If you don't want them to self-seed, then remove the spent flowerheads after the petals fall. If however you'd like another batch of self-sown seedlings in subsequent years, leave the seedheads intact, and when the seed has ripened, give them a gentle shake to spread their contents. When watering, avoid the 'little and often' approach, but when the soil becomes dry, water thoroughly so it can really soak in.


  • Sowing instructions:
    Sow shallowly, directly into a well prepared bed in spring, or (for an earlier display the following year) late summer to early autumn. Water well and as the seedlings appear, thin them out to 30cm intervals keeping just the healthiest and most robust ones to develop.


  • Sow: March to May or August to September


  • Approximate quantity: 500 seeds
  • Humans/Pets: Harmful if eaten
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