California Poppy

We recommend sowing California poppy directly outdoors into its final position in the spring. Alternatively, you can sow in late summer around the time when seed would naturally mature and fall to the ground, resulting in a mix of autumn and spring germination. You can also get good results from raising seedlings in plug trays and transplanting them while they are small – just make sure you don’t disturb or expose their long taproots.

Choose a sunny spot, ideally with well-drained soil. The only reason to prepare the land with compost is to improve drainage in heavy clay soils. Generally speaking, the plants thrive in low-nutrient soils.

If you are sowing direct you may need to thin the seedlings to create a bit of space, but not too much as they are happy to co-exist in close proximity. Some people leave them to grow in small clumps of around 5 plants per clump, with a spacing of around 30cm between each clump.

Being an annual, the plants naturally die back at the season – normally with the first frosts. But once established, there is a good chance you will find self-seeded plants coming up the following spring, but not to the extent that they will ever become invasive. They are always a welcome gift in the spring.

California Poppy’s bright and energising flowers hide a soothing secret. Like many of the members of the alluring Papaveraceae family it is a calming solution for over-excitement, frazzled nerves and spasmodic pain. And whilst it does contain some alkaloids, it contains none of the addictive morphine found in the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum. Its a bitter and cooling solution to the irritation of anxiety and nervousness and is used for insomnia, digestive cramps and urinary pain. This calming effect on the urinary system can be used as part of a plan to stop bedwetting at night.

Harvest all the aerial parts, gathering the delicate fresh leaves with the flowers and a few immature seed-heads at the peak of their bloom. Dry it for use in teas or use it fresh for an on-hand solution.

As a tincture, it is best extracted with a high percentage of alcohol at 60% at a ratio of 1 part fresh to 3 parts menstruum (the mix of water and alcohol acting as the natural solvent). If you don’t have access to high strength alcohol, you can still make a good tincture using 40% vodka.

As a tea, a teaspoon goes very well with a teaspoon of chamomile, a pinch of lavender and a little honey for a night time soother.