Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum)

The flowers of the genus Papaver are very pretty, but with the poppy you have to be a little careful 🙂. Its cultivation and maintenance is very simple, as easy as expected from a common herb, so we can enjoy it every spring.

If you want to know everything about her, then I'll explain it to you 🙂.

Origin and characteristics

The poppy, whose scientific name is Papaver somniferum, It is a glabrous or somewhat hairy annual herb that measures between 15 centimeters and 1,5 meters native to the Mediterranean region. Its leaves are oblong-ovate, lobed or sometimes pinnatisect, and measure 2-30 by 0,5-20cm. The flowers, undoubtedly their most attractive part, are pedunculated (that is, they have a stem that comes from the root, with one or two leaves), solitary and terminal, white, pink, purple or red.

The fruit, of variable size, is a subglobose, glabrous capsule, inside which are the tiny seeds. Both the first and what is inside are used for their high alkaloid content, to manufacture opium and derivatives illegally. They are used in the pharmaceutical and medical industries to make pain relievers.

What are their cares?

If you want to have a specimen in your yard or garden, we recommend providing the following care:

• Location: outside, in full sun.
• Earth:
  • Pot: universal growing substrate mixed with 30% perlite.
  • Garden: it is indifferent as long as it has good drainage.
• Irrigation: 3-4 times a week, slightly less if you live in an area with a humid climate.
• Subscriber: it is recommended to pay with ecological fertilizers once a month. Of course, it is important to use liquid fertilizers if it is grown in a pot so that the drainage continues to be good.
• Multiplication: by seeds in late winter.
• Rusticity: does not stand the cold. When it blooms and bears fruit, it withers.

What did you think of the poppy?