Meconopsis 2016

[Jonathan Lealand]

Hello everyone,

I planted 16 Meconopsis Betonicifolia here in Bristol, UK, almost two years ago and now they are finally on the verge of flowering for the first time. One of them has just opened enough to reveal the colour of the petals hiding within and, much to my horror (!), it's purple, not blue. Is this normal? I've heard that some start out purple and gradually change to blue. On the other hand I've heard that if the soil is too alkaline they can indeed turn purple, though this shouldn't be the case since I replaced the bed with ericaceous soil..

I'm going to be so disappointed if they all turn out purple after the two years of love.. any advice would be much appreciated.

[Tristan_He]

Give 'em a day or two Jonathan. Quite a few blue poppies will open a bit purplish. Unless your plants are "Hensol Violet' which stays purplish. Spring growing conditions can also affect the blueness of these and things like blue Corydalis. Are they from seed? If so there could be variation.

Incidentally if you are into blue poppies I'd strongly recommend M. 'Lingholm'. Reliably perennial, larger flowered than M. baileyi (yes they have changed the name back again) and a good doer in most gardens so long as it is well fed and split every so often.

[Jonathan Lealand]

Thanks for the advice, Tristan. This is my first time growing any Meconopsis plant so I'm obviously a bit inexperienced but I fell in love with them when I saw them the first time and am determined to give it my best shot. They're definitely not 'Hensol Violets' so I'm hoping that the purple will indeed change to blue. They're not from seed, I bought them as small plugs a couple of years back.

I'm very interested in trying M 'Lingholm', especially if it's reliably perennial, and have just ordered 8 of them! I can't keep up with the back and forth between Betonicifolia and M. bailey..!

How long have you been growing them for?

[Roma]

Meconopsis 'Mrs Jebb'  - such a deep colour.  This one stood out for me on a visit to Ian Christie's nursery a few years ago so i mhad to have it.

[Roma]

This opened yesterday.
Meconopsis prattii. 
I think it must be a self sown seedling as it is a few years since I planted M. prattii in this spot.  The Rhodohypoxis in the background of the second picture have been there for years and seem quite hardy.

[Roma]

Two different red Meconopsis opened today.  I think the first (pics 1&2) is one I bought at a plant sale.  The poor thing is still in a 7cm pot but is well rooted into the ground.  The second was grown from seed as Meconopsis staintonii.  I think the pollen is yelow but it appears red in the photos.  I will check tomorrow.

[Lesley Cox]

I wondered if these two reds were perhaps paniculata? But I don't know the genus well enough and don't know staintonii at all

[David Nicholson]

Nice to see your Mecs Roma.

[Roma]

Thanks, David.
Lesley, I think the first one is Meconopsis napaulensis (hort) if there is such a thing as most of those in cultivation could be of hybrid origin.  I'm not sure if staintonii is a valid name.  It is a few generations from a wild collection.
The stamens are definitely yellow.  I don't know why they come up red in the pics.   

[Roma]

Just had a look at Meconopsis World website.  Should do my research before answering queries.  Meconopsis staintonii is a valid name.  The ginger hairs on the leaves are a feature but they can occur in hybrids too.  Most of the tall monocarpic poppies in red and yellow shades are hybrids of napaulensis, paniculata, staintonii and others.

[Lesley Cox]

Thanks Roma. There are good stands of red and yellow in the Dunedin Botanic Gardens and I grew a lot from seed summer before last but one day of hot, north west winds did for the lot of them, still very young and tender. I'll try again though. M. grandis does very well here with high, overhead shade and a decent water supply at last.

[Jonathan Lealand]

Meconopsis 'Mrs Jebb'  - such a deep colour.  This one stood out for me on a visit to Ian Christie's nursery a few years ago so i mhad to have it.

Fabulous. Do Mrs Jebbs always have such rounded petals?

[Jonathan Lealand]

Here's an early flowering highlight

[Jonathan Lealand]

I love the deep blue in these

[Maggi Young]

There's a real magic about a big blue poppy!