Poppies belong to the poppy family Papaveraceae, with over 100 species of mostly annual herbaceous plants of Asian origin, containing white milk sap. Archaeological excavations prove that poppy, as a medicinal plant and endowed with supernatural properties, has accompanied man in everyday life for millennia. In traditional culture, it is a symbol of death and sleep (tombstones were often decorated with the symbol of maca - this custom is still present today), and at the same time, due to the countless number of tiny seeds, it means fertility and abundance.
Although the poppy is associated with death, it also protected the living from the harmful effects of all evil forces and kept the force hostile to man.For this reason, the village borders were planted with it so that the plague could not cross them. Bunch of dried poppy seeds hung with other herbs in the attic or in the kitchen, and the poppy seeds were carefully stored in pantries and used all year round, if not for witchcraft, for sure as a wonderful addition to baking.
For economic purposes, the poppy, Papaver somniferum, was used as an oil plant. Even now, in China, India, Iran and the former USSR republics, poppy seeds are used to obtain cooking oil as well as industrial oil for the production of paints. The pomace left over from this production is completely devoid of narcotic alkaloids and is sometimes used as a very fattening feed for pets. For medicinal purposes, the alkaloids contained in the milk juice are used - morphine, papaverine, codeine, and thebaine. Unfortunately, the poppy is best known today as a narcotic plant. The milk juice that concentrates in the air is called opium. In many countries, the breeding of this species of poppy is prohibited or regulated by special, strict laws.
Among the annual species in ornamental plant breeding, three are of the greatest importance: field poppy, medicinal poppy and stemless poppy seed.
Field poppyPapaver rhoeas is found in Central Europe, North Africa and Asia. In Poland, it grows as a weed in fields and roadsides. The fruit is quite a large poppy-seed bag filled with brown seeds. It reaches a height of 80 cm.
The opium poppyis unknown in the wild. Its flowers are magnificent, with a characteristic white, gray or almost black spot at the base of the petals. Cultivated varieties have full flowers in various shades of white, pink, red and purple. They were divided into two groups: Laciniata flore pleno with deeply cut and jagged petals and Paeoniae-flora flore pleno with full-border and oval petals. They bloom in June and July. This species can be grown as a cut flower. The seeds take on color depending on the color of the petals - white-flowering varieties have light seeds, and red ones - dark ones.
Stemless poppyPapaver nudicaule, also known as Icelandic or Siberian, grows in arctic and sub-arctic areas. It is short (40-50 cm) with small yellow flowers. Breeding varieties have beautiful pastel colors. It blooms in June and July.
The eastern poppy, or Turkish Papaver orientale, is the most widespread perennial of this genus, known for a long time in cultivation.It occurs naturally in Armenia, Persia and in Caucasus. It is a leggy plant with large feathery leaves and large cinnabar, single or full flowers. The breeding work to obtain interesting varieties has been going on for nearly a century. These varieties are hybrids obtained as a result of crossing high permanent species with annuals. The cultivation includes tall varieties (100-120 cm) with huge flowers ranging in color from salmon pink to cherry red with a black spot at the base of the petals, as well as short varieties, reaching 40-60 cm in height.They bloom in May and June. Then they look very impressive and although they fade quickly, they are one of the most valuable flowers in our gardens.
Cultivation of eastern poppiesIt is best to plant them in perennial beds near plants that grow vigorously in summer (e.g. gypsophila), because soon after flowering, the aboveground part disappears and remains quite a large blank. In spring, however, they grow very abundantly. Eastern poppy requires fertile calcareous soil and a sunny position. In May, we plant them into the ground at 40-60 cm intervals. In the case of transplanting older plants, which must be done in early spring or August, the plant should be deeply undermined, because it has long (up to 100 cm) fleshy roots. During frosts, eastern poppies freeze, so in winter they need to be covered with a thick layer of leaves or bark. Sowing seeds usually produces a variegated mixture, except for the typical red varieties, so it is better to propagate them vegetatively through cuttings in the fall or winter.We put them in pots, in which, by May, they will form a sufficiently strong root ball to ensure flowering of the plant in the first year.
Vase poppiesPoppies also look beautiful as cut flowers, especially in large black vases and in the so-called gray-haired. They are cut in the slightly parted bud phase. To prolong their existence, immediately after cutting the ends of the shoots over a fire or immerse them in hot water (approx. 50 ° C), holding them diagonally to shield the delicate petals from heat. These activities are aimed at emptying the juice from the milk pipes. Only after this treatment, the poppies can be placed in a vase with lukewarm water.
