Papaver rhoeas 'Pastel Doubles Mix'

Papaver rhoeas 'Pastel Doubles Mix' is a glorious mixture of double flowered poppies, with silky texture, in soft colours, from whites to apricot-pinks, lilac-blues, creams and oranges also bi-colours and some interesting picotee types.
Growing to a height of 60 to 75cm (24 to 30in), these romantic, old-fashioned poppies have silky-petaled blossoms that dance on graceful nodding stems.

Papaver rhoeas are easy to grow from seed in almost any site, and look beautiful in the border. They are the easiest thing to establish, as long as you can provide light soil in full sun or light shade. Simply scatter the seeds thinly in either spring or in autumn and gently rake them in.
Sown once the ground has begun to warm in late April, by June you will be blessed with the goose neck, prickly buds and shortly after, gorgeous silky-petaled blooms.
Their delightfully informal habit makes them ideal for integrating into mixed borders or large containers they also look wonderful in the vase.
They can be sown in spring or autumn where they will flower in profusion from mid-May until late September and if seedlings are left to grow, the poppies will come up year after year in the garden.

Sowing: Direct sow in spring or in autumn.
Sow outdoors from spring to early summer or in the autumn for flowering the next season. staggered sowings through spring will extend the flowering season. Seeds are best sown directly where they are to flower in short drills 12mm (½in) deep at around 20°C (68°F). Cover lightly with soil, if sowing more than one annual in the same bed, mark the sowing areas with a ring of light coloured sand and label
Seeds germinate in less than two weeks. The seedlings will appear in rows approx 6 to 8 weeks after planting and can be told from nearby weed seedlings quite easily. Thin the seedlings out so they are finally 4 to 6 in apart by early summer.
Alternatively, leave them to grow as small clumps, of 4 to 6 plants every 30cm (12in) or so. Compost should be kept slightly moist, but not wet at all times.

Cultivation:
Prefers well drained soil enriched with manure or compost ahead of planting. Feeding is rarely needed but water well if there are prolonged periods of drought.
Remove spent flowers to encourage prolific blooming. At the end of the season, if required, leave a few plants to die down and self seed. Others can be pulled up and composted

For Cut Flowers:
Cut when flowers are in bud, hold the base of the stems for a few seconds in a flame or boiling water, and the flowers will last several days in water.

Plant Uses:
Cottage/Informal Garden, Flower Borders and Beds, Wildflower meadows, Butterfly & Bee Gardens, Cut Flowers.

Origin:
The origin of Papaver rhoeas is not known for certain. As with many such plants, the area of origin is often ascribed by Americans to Europe, and by northern Europeans to southern Europe. The European Garden Flora suggests that it is ‘Eurasia and North Africa’; in other words, the lands where agriculture has been practiced since the earliest times. It was probably introduced into Britain and Ireland along with agricultural crops at least as far back as the Late Bronze Age. It has had an old symbolism and association with agricultural fertility.
Common poppy is found on a wide range of soils but is most frequent on light, calcareous soils. It is a species of flowering plant in the poppy family, Papaveraceae and is pollinated by insects, particularly bumble bees.

Nomenclature:
The genus name Papaver is the classical Latin name for the poppy
The species name rhoeas is probably derived from the Latin word 'rho' meaning red.
Sir Cedric Morris (1889-1982), the artist who gardened at Benton End in Hadleigh, Suffolk, bred his own series of poppies in muted shades of grey, lilac and purple. Developed around 1910, and originally marketed as ‘Sir Cedric Morris’ they can now be found under the name 'Mother of Pearl'.
Thompson & Morgan then used his strain to produce its fully double 'Angels Choir Mixed’ strain. The result of almost ten years work, it was released in 1980 and was awarded the Fleuroselect Quality Mark. From this line of breeding comes the 'Pastel Double Mix'.