code: 958
golden-eyed, blue-purple flowers
Family: Papaveraceae
Common name: SUBSP. ORIENTALIS
Plant Classification: Hardy perennial Hardy biennial
Minimum Height: 1.2 meters
Maximum Height: 1.5 meters
Packet Content(approx.): 20+
Newly-described, this very rare, exciting and unbelievably exquisite flower bears spectacular head of closely-packed, golden-eyed, blue-purple flowers, which open over an extended period in late spring on a stout, hairy stem. This arises from the magnificent rosette of thick, wavy-edged leaves, thickly-clad in dense hairs, which slowly enlarges all winter long, reaching its maximum diameter in February, after which the massed head of buds burst upwards. This is one of the world’s newest and most desirable plants, asking for good organic moist soil, and preferably some shade to do of its best, but it is worth any trouble to grow and to see it in full bloom.
Sowing advice:
Seeds can be sown at any time, but for a full season of growth are best sown in trays in early spring. Cover seeds thinly in a cool spot, artificial heat is rarely needed as this can cause rapid germination and fungal attack. Seedlings usually appear within 3 to 6 weeks but can take much longer. Pot on into small pots and protect from hot sun. Plant out into a shaded, moist, peaty or organic soil. Many are herbaceous, dying down to a large, resting, winter bud.
Originally collected by Wilson in west Sichuan as M. napaulensis and north of Wolong. An evergreen monocarpic species The plant is dainty with well-cut ferny leaves with short squat fruits (this is subsp. wilsonii). A second subsp. australis occurs in NW Yunnan and Burma and was first collected by Forrest. This is similar but with coarser leaves. Curtis Botanical Magazine (2002) 23,176. Professor David Rankin has descibed a new sub species from NE Yunnan.
Cultivation
This has been grown and successfully flowered near Edinburgh by Professor Rankin and very beautiful it is too. Will probably take 3 years to fower from seed (though the related M. wallichii nearly always takes two years. Probably fairly straight forward in cool northern areas but many of these evergreen monocarpic species of all colours can be grown in hotter and drier areas since they are monocarpic and need to be renewed from seed. Seed stored cool (it will need harvesting later than many Meconopsis since like M. wallichii it is late flowering) and then sown in January and given a little bottom heat after a month. Heat is not essential since they germinate as soon as spring starts to warm up. They need pricking on when two leaves have formed beyond the seed leaves into a rich moist compost and then potting into small plastic pots before planting out preferably by the end of August where the are to flower. They can be over wintered in the pots and planted out mid March when back in growth.
