Papaver orientale

Oriental poppy is a clump-forming herbaceous perennial in the poppy family that is native to Central Asia. The genus name "Papaver" comes from the Latin word for poppy and the species name "orientale" means from the Orient. It bears large cup-shaped flowers in orange, red, and pink with black centers in June-July. The finely divided gray-green leaves give it an airy texture in the landscape.  They die down after flowering and a basal rosette of leaves reappear in fall through winter until they grow vertically in the spring. They generally don't do well in heat and humidity or south of zone 7 and do need an adequate cold period in the winter in order to have good seed germination.

Plant in well-drained garden soil in full sun and do not over-water to prevent root rot of the deep taproot. Place among plants that will fill in to hide the hole left once die-down occurs. Plants can be propagated by seeds or root cuttings though you may not get a true flower color if you plant from seed.  

Plant Oriental poppies in large groups in a meadow landscape, in clumps along a border or walkway. Interplant them with plants that have interest later in the summer as they will leave an empty space in your design after they flower.  Some choices to consider are baby's breath (Gypsophila paniculata) or false chamomile (Boltonia asterodies) as they have sprawling forms and flower through the late summer and into early fall.

Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems:  No serious problems.  Root rot can occur in poorly drained soils.  

More information on Papaver.