California Gold

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You have probably seen them. They are peeking out from under bushes in yards around town, beginning to wave like so many little orange-gold flags along drives and on hillsides around the state. Yes, the California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica) is making its yearly debut.

This little poppy is native not only to California, but also to Oregon and grows in all zones therein. It is actually a perennial, but most people use it as an annual in the garden. After the blooms fade the plant dries and looks quite weedy, so you have several choices. You can just pull out the plants, leaving the spot tidy and ready for something else. If you do, however, you will need to reseed next year if you want poppies again. Or you can leave the plants and let them go to seed naturally. The seeds form on long, slender, arching pods. If you happen to be out in the garden when the pods open you will hear a gentle "pop" and then a soft rain as the seeds fall to earth. (I was delighted the first time I heard it and realized what it was.) Once the pods have popped you can safely pull the dried plants to neaten your garden, knowing that your next year's crop has been seeded. One caution, however: mine are on a slight slope facing west and many of the seeds over the years have landed on the sidewalk. A good sweep with the broom sends them back where I want them. OR you can cut the plants back almost to the ground and they are very likely to grow again the following spring.

I planted my poppies as part of a wildflower mix some 20 years ago and have enjoyed their returning blooms ever since. In the last few years, however, I have pulled out plants a little early and not been so careful about the seeds--probably because I have always had a glorious display and felt "poppy wealthy". Perhaps due to that cavalier attitude combined with the scarce rainfall this winter, I have very few poppies in my yard so far this year. Still, I smile as I can see poppies in several of the yards up my street where the wind has shared my poppy seeds.

The Antelope Valley boast hillsides covered with poppies every spring. Nearby the city of Lancaster holds a California Poppy Festival (this year on April 20-21), celebrating with music, art, food and fun our state flower.

Our official California Master Gardener emblem, Eschscholzia californica was named circa 1810 by a German botanist after his friend Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz had brought it back from a scientific expedition to the Pacific. It was chosen by the California State Floral Society as the state flower in 1890 and made official by the legislature on April 6, 1903. Happy 110th anniversary, little gem!

Beautiful poppies. photos by Marian Chmieleski