Thompson & Morgan Californian Poppy Red Chief 400 Seed

Californian Poppy - Red Chief

This is the best red we've seen in a Californian Poppy! We trialled Californian Poppy 'Red Chief' over several years to make sure the flowers maintained their vibrant and rich red colour. Outstanding in our trials, the intensely coloured blooms are produced all summer long above low-growing mounds of feathery blue-green foliage, and are attractive to bees and hoverflies. Performing well in all weathers, this Eschscholzia variety is easy to grow in beds, borders and containers, or let it self-seed throughout gravel gardens to form natural drifts. Height: 25cm. Spread: 25cm.

Direct sow eschscholzia seed outdoors where they are to grow from March to May or in September for overwintering. Autumn sowings will flower in late spring. Choose a position in full sun on any poor, well-drained soil which has been raked to a fine tilth. Sow seeds thinly, at a depth of 1cm in drills spaced 15cm apart and cover seed with its own depth of soil to exclude light. Water the ground regularly, especially during dry periods. Germination usually takes 5-10 days. When seedlings are large enough to handle, thin them out to 15cm apart. Alternatively, sow California poppies indoors from February to March at a temperature of 15-21C. When seedlings are large enough to handle, transplant and grow them on in cooler conditions until large enough to plant outdoors. Gradually acclimatise eschscholzia plants to outdoor conditions when all risk of frost has passed before planting outdoors in any well drained soil in full sun. Water regularly until plants are fully established. Deadhead faded eschscholzia flowers to prevent them from self seeding.