Poppies are one of the most iconic and beautiful flowers, with their delicate, papery petals that seem to wave in the breeze. Their ethereal appearance makes them an obvious choice for cut flowers. However, poppies have a reputation for not lasting long as cut flowers, wilting after just a day or two in an arrangement. But with the right variety and a little preparation, you can extend the vase life of cut poppies to enjoy their beauty.
Poppies as Ephemeral, Event Flowers
Most poppies are not well-suited as long lasting cut flowers. However they are so irresistible that people want to cut them anyway. The best way to think of poppies is as an “event” flower perfect for a special occasion or event where you want a brief, spectacular floral display. They are ephemeral and fleeting, with a flowering season typically lasting just a couple weeks in late spring and early summer.
Cut poppies are best used right after cutting ideally within a day or two. Don’t expect them to last more than 2-3 days in a vase. Their delicate beauty is temporary. But for a wedding dinner party or other special event, they can’t be beat for their dazzling colors and texture.
Choosing the Best Poppy Varieties for Cutting
While poppies as a whole are ephemeral cut flowers, some varieties hold up better than others after cutting. Here are some of the best options:
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Iceland Poppies: These bloom in cool weather, producing flowers in white, pink, orange, yellow and red on long, slender stems. The blooms are larger and more upright than other poppies.
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Oriental Poppies: The huge, crepe paper-like blooms on strong stems make these a striking cut flower. Red is most common but they also come in pink, coral and white.
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Shirley Poppies: Ruffled blooms with tissue paper-like petals in white, pink, red and bi-colors on long, wiry stems perfect for cutting.
Poppy Cutting and Care Tips
Poppies produce a milky sap when cut that will ooze from the stem, preventing them from absorbing water properly. Follow these tips to prep poppies for arrangements:
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Cut stems early morning while buds are still closed or just starting to open.
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Sear the cut end of the stem briefly with a flame or boil for 30 seconds to cauterize.
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Cut under water to prevent sap dripping out.
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Use floral preservative like Floralife in the vase water.
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Recut stems and change water daily.
Even with these steps, most poppies will only last 2-4 days as cut flowers. The extra effort is primarily for event flowers that don’t need to last over a week.
Best Ways to Use Cut Poppies
To make the most of their short vase life, here are some recommendations for poppies:
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Use as a focal flower with peonies, roses or other blooms in a small arrangement. They’ll shine for 1-2 days before dropping petals.
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Make a mono-bouquet with one vibrant poppy variety like red Shirley poppies for serious visual impact.
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Mix in a few stems to an arrangement of greenery and filler like baby’s breath. Let them take the spotlight while they last.
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Float a single bloom in a low glass bowl or vase.
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Use sparingly as table decor for a special event or wedding.
Caring for Poppies in the Garden
To get the most from poppies, let them bloom in the garden too! This allows you to fully enjoy their ephemeral beauty where they grow. Poppies are easy to grow from seed scattered in fall. Choose a spot with full sun and well-drained soil. Lightly rake seeds in and water seedlings. Once established they are quite drought tolerant. Sit back and revel in the short but fantastic floral display.
The best approach is enjoying poppies both ways – cutting some blooms for arrangements while leaving most to flower in the garden. Their tendency to wilt quickly after cutting means poppies are best treated as a visually stunning yet ephemeral bloom. With their dazzling colors and delicate textures they are ideal “event flowers” for special occasions. Proper variety selection and preparation extends their vase life temporarily. But most of all, poppies are meant to be admired where they grow in all their fleeting glory.
A Parade of Poppies
Most commonly, gardeners can choose from the annual poppies grown each year from seed (Papaver, Eschscholtzia), or perennial poppies that come back from underground roots each year (Papaver, Stylophorum). Either way, poppies are pure joy to have in the garden or scattered across the landscape.
The ephemeral flowers open to delight us with shimmering colors in a wealth of shades, from dazzling white to cream, and through the spectrum to yellow, golden, orange, peach, pink, red, scarlet, lavender, plum, purple, and mahogany.
The secret to success with poppies is to select the best species for your zone and soil type.
Iceland Poppies (considered Papaver nudicaule) are a hybridized swarm of annual species from boreal (sub-polar) regions of Europe, Asia and North America, but not from Iceland. These poppies do best in cooler zones (USDA Zones 3-7) and mildly acidic soils (pH 6.0 to 7.0). If your night-time temperatures get much over 70 degrees before July, these are not a good poppy for your area. Plants spread to 18 inches wide with green foliage and produce fragrant flowers on 3 foot stalks that can be 3 to 4 inches across. Technically these are short-lived perennials, but most gardeners grow them as annuals.
Red Poppies (Papaver rhoeas) are annuals also called Flanders, corn, and field poppy. They have also been hybridized to create the Shirley poppy. Originally from Mesopotamia, the red poppies spread into southern Europe, southern Asia, and north Africa. These poppies do best in warmer zones (USDA zones 4-9) and in mild soils that are not overly acidic, soils can even be chalky (pH 6.5 to 7.5). Plants spread to 18 inches wide with green foliage and flowers on 2 to 4 foot stalks that can be 2 to 4 inches across.
California Poppies (Eschscholzia californica) are annual poppies native to western North America – from Mexico through California and into the Southwestern deserts that get winter and spring moisture. They do well in soils that have a pH of 6.5 to 8.0 and can take temperatures up to 90 degrees. Plants spread to 12 inches wide with lacy silvery-blue foliage and the flowers on 2 to 18 inch stalks can be 1 to 4 inches across. Incidentally, this genus once used to have a number of species including the Mexican poppy and the Death Valley poppy, but now theyre all considered the same species.
Oriental poppies (Papaver orientale) are perennial poppies but are not from what we call the Orient today. The name comes from the Latin word for “East” and some centuries ago, exotic Persia was considered remote and east of the known (European) world. Along with desert areas, Persia has cool mountains with snowy winters, and thats the climate Oriental poppies prefer. They do well in well-drained soils that have a pH of 6.5 to 7.0 and can take temperatures from -10 up to 90 degrees. Plants spread to 2 feet wide with coarse green foliage and the flowers appear on 12 to 30 inch stalks and can be 1 to 4 inches across.
Celendine poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum) is a perennial poppy native to eastern North America, and ideal for the gardener with a woodland garden. Unlike the previous species, they do well in moist soil with a pH of 5.8 to 7.0, and will even grow in clay soils. Plants spread to 18 inches wide with coarse, bluish-green foliage. The bright yellow flowers often appear in clusters on 12 to 18 inch stalks and can be 1 to 3 inches across.
Poppies have an ancient lineage. Genealogically speaking, they have close family ties to plants that hung out with the dinosaurs. This means they have been in the “arms race” against animals who want to eat them for a very long time. Some very unpleasant plant chemicals have been created in this arms race (think of poison ivy) but some poppies have chemicals that humans cherish.
Back in the days of Gilgamesh, when warriors hacked away at each other with bronze swords, herbalists discovered that crushed poppy seeds in wine helped dull pain and lull patients to sleep. Humans have been raising poppies ever since. Not just raising them, but breeding them to produce more flowers, trading the seeds, taxing the seeds, and decorating temples and palaces with carvings and paintings of the flowers and pods for over 6000 years.
All members of the poppy family contain alkaloids, not just the opium poppies. Alkaloids can be deadly and should be treated with respect. Many cultures consider various species of poppy as medicinal plants, and they can be – with the correct dosage and use. Pet owners should monitor their pets. In general, poppy plants are so distasteful that all animals, including domestic pets, avoid them after a sniff or a brief taste.
Poppies as Cut Flowers
Oriental, Iceland and Shirley poppies make excellent cut flowers. The best time to harvest them is right before the buds open. When cut, the stems ooze a milky latex that is messy and will prevent the flower from lasting without heat treatment. Sear the cut ends with a match or place the ends of the cut stems in hot water (110 to 180 degrees) for 20 to 30 seconds. Even with treatment the cut flowers only last a few days.
How to Sow Breadseed Poppies, Why to Grow Poppies for Cut Flowers + Favorite Poppy Varieties
FAQ
Can you use poppies for cut flowers?
Poppies are amazing flowers – all that papery, pettily, ruffly exuberance crammed tightly into the bud casing – unfurling, unfolding as the days go on. This makes them the perfect cut flower to my mind – the chance to watch transformation day by day, even hour by hour.
Why is it illegal to cut poppy flowers?
While there is no law protecting the California poppy specifically, California Penal Code Section 384a(opens in new tab) requires written landowner permission to remove and sell plant material from land that a person does not own, and removing or damaging plants from property that a person does not own without …
Do poppies cut well?
Do Poppies make good cut flowers? Yes, Poppies make a spectacular cut flower display whether alone, or mixed with other early summer blooms such as Peonies.
Are poppies good cut flowers?
But let’s get this out in the open: Most types of poppies are NOT good cut flowers. At best, they will last 2 days in the vase… but they are so beautiful, I don’t care! Let’s look at the Pros and Cons of growing Poppies for cut flower use. PROS They come in a multitude of colors. They are fairly easy to grow (most types).
How do you cut poppies?
Go out early in the morning to find the poppies you wish to cut. Look for healthy flowers whose buds have not yet opened. Use clean, sharp shears to cut the stem just above dirt. Dull blades can make uneven cuts and damage the flower. Poppy flowers are large red or yellow blossoms that are known for their range in central Europe.
What makes a Poppie a good flower?
Part of the appeal of poppies is their curly stems, tissue paper petals, and nodding necks. Don’t place them all face-forward. Place them at different angles so that you can appreciate the stems, the spots of black on the underside of the petals, and their papery petals.
Are poppies a swoon-worthy flower?
Poppies might be the most swoon-worthy flower ever. Their delicate blooms unfurl each morning and bring delight to all who encounter them. Pollinators also love poppies. In the morning, I like to sneak out to the garden right before sunrise and wait by the poppy patch.
How do you keep poppy flowers fresh for longer?
There’s a trick that florists use to keep poppy flowers fresher for longer in the vase: You simply have to burn the stems. Cauterizing the flower stems is a lesser-known secret that makes the most of poppies.
How do you keep poppies from wilting?
But, with a few household items you can prevent the early wilting of your poppies and enjoy them for several days. Go out early in the morning to find the poppies you wish to cut. Look for healthy flowers whose buds have not yet opened. Use clean, sharp shears to cut the stem just above dirt. Dull blades can make uneven cuts and damage the flower.