(Eschscholzia californica ‘Ivory Castle’)

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Ivory Castle California Poppy is a native cool-weather short-lived perennial flower that grows in open areas, hillsides, and along roads throughout the western United States. At maturity, this plant reaches a height of 12-16” and features bluish-green fern-like leaves and 3” 4 petal cup-shaped white flowers with pale yellow centers. This plant attracts bees and butterflies, is resistant to deer, tolerates drought, is both edible and medicinal, self-sows, and is used as a cut flower!

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  • General Information
  • Germination
  • Seedlings
  • Harvesting
  • Seed Saving
  • Culinary
  • Medicinal
  • Companion Planting
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​​Family: Papaveraceae

Genus: Eschscholzia

Species: californica

Variety: Ivory Castle

Native to: California, Mexico Northwest, Nevada, Oregon, Washington.

Introduced into: Alabama, Algeria, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Argentina South, Baleares, Belgium, Bolivia, Canary Is., Cape Provinces, Central European Rus, Chile Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Colorado, Corse, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Ecuador, France, Illinois, Juan Fernández Is., Kentucky, Korea, Madeira, Magadan, Mexico Central, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Morocco, New South Wales, New York, New Zealand North, New Zealand South, Peru, Primorye, Queensland, Romania, Rwanda, South Australia, Tasmania, Tristan da Cunha, Victoria, Western Australia.

Ease of Growing: Easy

Grown as: Cool Weather Annual: Zones: 4-7 
                           Tender Perennial​: Zones: 8-10
 
Bloom: Spring or early summer

Light: Full Sun

Water: Water seedlings occasionally, but decrease watering as the plants mature; poppies tolerate drought well and will only need watering in periods of extreme dryness. 

Soil Moisture: This plant tolerates most soils that drain well.

​Attracts Beneficial Insects: Yes. The flowers attract Bees and Butterflies and are resistant to Deer.
 
Containers?: Yes. Poppies grow well in containers, partly because they are drought tolerant. They add an airy aspect to pots, which gardeners usually pack with plants for eye-catching designs. Use them sparingly so they act as accents rather than focal points. Select large containers with drainage holes in the bottom or sides to prevent waterlogged soil. Fill the pot with a packaged potting mix, not garden soil. Garden soil, in addition to containing weed seeds, becomes very heavy when wet. You can sow seeds directly in the planter, but it is easier to arrange your design if you use transplants. Set the potted poppies and other plants on top of the soil before unpotting; rearrange them until the design suits you. Because many of the plants will not be mature or in flower when you do this, your imagination will need to fill in colors as well as the ultimate heights and spreads of your selections. Unpot the plants and set them in the container at the same level they were growing originally. Try to disturb the roots of the poppies as little as possible. Water the planting well. Water the containers as needed. In hot summer weather you may find yourself watering every day, depending on the plants you combine. Deadhead spent blooms on all plants to keep the plants producing new flowers and to keep the planting attractive.

Height: 16”
 
Spacing: 10-12”

Sow Depth: 1/4"
 
Produces: bluish green fern-like leaves and 3” 4 petal cup-shaped white flowers that have pale yellow centers. 

USDA Grow Zone: 4-10
Sow in early spring, planting the seed ¼” below the surface of the soil; keep the soil lightly moist until germination, which should occur in 2-3 weeks at a soil temperature of 60-65 degrees. In USDA Zones 7 and warmer, this seed can be fall planted. Poppies do not transplant well, and must be planted while very small if started indoors.
Water seedlings occasionally, but decrease watering as the plants mature; poppies tolerate drought well and will only need watering in periods of extreme dryness. This plant tolerates most soils that drain well, as well as adapting to seaside conditions. This plant does not need rich soil, and actually blooms best in poor soil. Pinch off faded blossoms for the most prolific blooming. These flowers prefer cool temperatures, usually blooming in spring and early summer and going dormant when the summer heat begins. Though an annual, it will reseed itself and return the following year. Poppies attract bees and butterflies.
​For the longest lasting cut flowers, choose poppies that have just begun to open; cut them in the morning while the moisture is at its peak. Sear the cut ends of the flowers with boiling water or a match, and immediately plunge them into cold water. Place them in a vase with water at room temperature.
​When saving poppy seeds, keep in mind that the resulting flowers sometimes revert to the dominant orange or red blossoms. After the petals drop off, a capsule will form and turn from green to tan. Since the capsules will eventually split and explosively release their seeds, cut them off as soon as the color begins to turn and the seed inside has ripened to grayish black. Spread the capsules out to dry for several days, then split them to remove the seeds. Store the cleaned seeds in a cool, dry place.
Leaves: Cooked. This plant is in a family that contains many poisonous plants so some caution is advised in using it.
The Californian poppy is a bitter sedative herb that acts as a diuretic, relieves pain, relaxes spasms and promotes perspiration. The whole plant is harvested when in flower and dried for use in tinctures and infusions. It is taken internally in the treatment of nervous tension, anxiety, insomnia and incontinence (especially in children). The watery sap is mildly narcotic and has been used to relieve toothache. It is similar in its effect to the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) but is much milder in its action and does not depress the central nervous system. Another report says that it has a markedly different effect upon the central nervous system, that it is not a narcotic but tends to normalize psychological function. Its gently antispasmodic, sedative and analgesic actions make it a valuable herbal medicine for treating physical and psychological problems in children. It may also prove beneficial in attempts to overcome bedwetting, difficulty in sleeping and nervous tension and anxiety. An extract of the root is used as a wash on the breasts to suppress the flow of milk in lactating females.
​​Poppy is a great companion plant for roses. It looks wonderful with blue flowers like Campanula 'Telham Beauty', Centaurea 'Blue Boy', and Nigella 'Miss Jekyll Blue'.

Suggested Varieties

(Centaurea cyanus ‘Dwarf Blue’)

Dwarf Blue Cornflower is an annual flower native to Europe that grows in open fields and along railroads from coast to coast of the United States. At maturity, this plant reaches a height of 1-3' and features grayish green, blade-like foliage, and long stems topped by a 1” circlet of tiny lavender blue flowers with a darker center. This plant attracts bees and butterflies, provides bird forage, tolerates drought and frost, makes dye, self-sows, and is used as a cut flower!
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(Centaurea cyanus ‘Tall Blue’)

Tall Blue Cornflower is an annual flower that is native to Europe that can be found growing in open fields and along railroads from coast to coast of the United States. At maturity, this plant reaches the height of 1-3' and features grayish green, blade-like foliage, and long stems topped by a 1” circlet of tiny lavender blue flowers with a darker center. This plant attracts bees and butterflies, provides bird forage, tolerates drought and frost, makes dye, self-sows, and is great as a cut flower! 
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(Centaurea cyanus ‘Tall Pink’)

Tall Blue Cornflower is an annual flower native to Europe that grows in open fields and along railroads from coast to coast of the United States. At maturity, this plant reaches a height of 1-3' and features grayish green, blade-like foliage, and long stems topped by a 1” circlet of tiny lavender blue flowers with a darker center. This plant attracts bees and butterflies, provides bird forage, tolerates drought and frost, makes dye, self-sows, and is used as a cut flower! 
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