Poppy is a plant known since ancient Rome - "povas" - milky juice. In total, about 100 varieties are known, but in our country 75 grows. The plant came to us from the deserts of Australia and Central Asia with hard rocky soil. A poppy on a smooth or needle-shaped stem appears one red, pale pink, orange, yellow, two-tone or delicate shades of flower. The petals of a garden poppy are delicate, usually scarlet with a black core, with seeds in a box.
It is because of the seeds that it is forbidden to grow some varieties of poppy in Russia. Many of its varieties contain opium, which, despite the fact that it is used in medicine (in the treatment of insomnia and depression), is a narcotic substance (opium censers have long been known in the Arab countries and in China).
Varieties of poppy: peony, oriental and others
Forbidden to grow:
- Hypnotics, opium (P. somniferun).
- Bristle-bearing (P. setigerum).
- Bract (P. bracteatum).
- Eastern (P. orientale).
Annual poppies
| View Grade | Description | Flowers |
Hypnotic, opium (P. somniferum)
| Up to 100 cm tall. Stems are dark green, glossy, leaves, the closer to the inflorescence, the more elliptical. Flowering lasts 4 weeks. | About 10 cm, the petals can be either ordinary or double, of different colors - red, yellow, maroon, purple with dark or white spots, fall off by sunset. It is forbidden to grow. |
| Peony, sleeping pills (P. somniferum)
| Reminiscent of a peony of 15 cm in size. The color scheme from ink to black, two-tone with jagged tips, delicate pink, scarlet and snow-white. | |
| Samoseyka, wild (P. rhoeas)
| The stem grows to 60 cm, is covered with hairs, closer to the root the leaves look pinnate, separate, on the stem three-divided. | White, scarlet, coral with dark edges, pink with a dark core are found in color. An inflorescence less than 10 cm wide is ordinary or double |
| Caucasian red (P. commutatum) or Modified (P. commutatum)
| Grows up to 70 cm. | Cirrus, two separate with a black core up to 20 cm. It blooms from July to September. |
| Peacock (P. pavoninum) | The branches are rounded at the ends of 3-5 cm, the stalk is bristly, the leaves are green pinnately dissected. | They can be of different shades, terry, and ordinary. It blooms in mid-summer. |
Perennial poppies
| View Grade | Description | Flowers |
Oriental
| Reaches 1 m, the stalk is straight, thick, fleecy, the leaves are pinnate, dissected, they are shorter down. Blooms in just 2 weeks. | Bright scarlet flowers up to 20 cm in size with a black core. Varieties of coral color with a small dark center, flowers of bright orange color, from ash-white to pale pink, were bred. It is forbidden to grow. |
| Alpine (P. alpinum L.) | Low plant up to 0.5 m, with an abundance of fleecy leaves. | The size of the inflorescence is not more than 4 cm, the flowers can be orange, white and red. |
| Rockbreaker (P. rupifragum) | Biennial, blooms in the 2nd year with the beginning of spring, grows about 45 cm, with a dense amount of leaves. | Many glossy colors from dark orange to brick tint appear on the stem. |
Ice-cream, Icelandic
| It grows to 0.5 m, the stem is spiny, the foliage is pale green, directed down. In May, blooms and blooms until the end of September. Can be put in vases. | The size of the inflorescence up to 5 cm is ordinary or double, the flowers are red, yellow, white or pink with a yellow fringing. |
| Saffron (P. croceum) | Stretches up to 30 cm, dark green leaves or light, hairy. It blooms from early spring to October, the homeland of this variety is Eastern Siberia, Central Asia and Mongolia. Completely poisonous plant (starting from the stem and ending with the flower). | The size of the inflorescence is up to 20 cm, the color of the petals is from yellow to orange. |
Sowing poppy in the open ground
Flowering poppy begins from August to September, lasts about a month, the plant is unpretentious.
For all types of poppies, especially garden, self-seeding is best. When the box bursts and the seeds are transferred to the ground under the influence of wind or bees under the winter, then the garden poppy will delight the early seedlings.
Any soil is suitable - super sandy and neutral.
In order for the plant to bloom for a long time, it should be cut as soon as the boxes begin to be tied.
In addition to self-sowing, poppy in the garden can be planted with seeds from the same box. When the leaves wilted and it seemed to crack along the edges, you can get planting material from it.
It is better to sow it in spring, all summer it will delight with its flowering, the main thing is that there is no close occurrence of groundwater in the soil. It is advisable to choose sunny places, since this plant came to us from desert territories, it is better to prepare the soil from ordinary soil in the garden or use compost mixed with the ground. It is better to deepen the seeds by 3 cm in the ground, plant at a distance of 5-10 cm, in the end, water.
Poppy Care
Caring for a garden poppy is the easiest - it does not require shelter for the winter, in a drought it is better to water and fertilize it, but it is not necessary. It is advisable to loosen the soil and remove weeds.
An annual plant after flowering is torn out of the ground and thrown away, a perennial crop.
Poppy propagation
Also, poppy can be bred using cuttings - after flowering, side shoots (sockets) are cut and planted in the ground when the cuttings take root, they are transplanted and grown for another 1-2 years.
Diseases and pests of poppy
| Title | Signs Manifestations on the leaves | Repair methods |
| Powdery mildew | Covered with white coating. | Dilute 50 ml of soda in an aqueous solution or in 10 l of water of copper chloride 40 g, rinse the leaves. |
| Downy mildew | They are deformed and covered with gray-brown spots, on the inside they turn purple. | Use the same means as with powdery mildew. |
| Fusarium | The leaves and stalk are covered with dark spots, the boxes wrinkle. | Plants are removed, and the ground is shed with a fungicide solution. |
| Alternariosis | Green spots on the leaves. | Poppy is shed with a burgundy mixture, Kuprosat, Fundazol. |
| Weevil | A beetle eating plant leaves settles in the ground. | Before planting in the soil add 10% Bazulin or 7% Chlorophos. |
| Aphid | Black small plaque of bugs on leaves and stems. | Wash leaves and stem with Antitlin or soapy water. |
To avoid fungal infections, it is better to plant poppy in the same place with a difference of three years.
Useful properties of poppy
Poppy seeds contain almost all trace elements:
- alkaloids;
- flavonoids;
- organic acids;
- fats and glycosides;
- squirrels.
Poppy oil is a valuable raw material used in the manufacture of cosmetics and in pharmacology.
Since the days of Ancient Greece, the painkillers and sleeping pills of poppy have been known. Most recently, its seeds were used as a remedy for coughing, they treated diseases of the stomach, inflammation of the sciatic nerve, insomnia, hemorrhoids, dysentery and diarrhea.
Poppy should not be taken for children under 2 years of age, the elderly, people with pulmonary emphysema, and also with alcohol dependence.
