Posts Tagged: california poppies
Weeds, Friend or Foe?
By Susanne von Rosenberg, UC Master Gardener of Napa County It's May and...
California poppy, friend or foe? (Twitchell, UC Botanical Garden)
Just . . . weeds (Pinterest)
Purslane, an edible (UC IPM)
Dandelion, leaves edible (UC IPM)
Lambsquarters, another edible (UC IPM)
Fennel (DiTomaso, UC Davis Dept of Plant Science)
Nettle, edible, be careful picking. Those hairs sting and burn. (UC IPM)
Chickweed, edible. The chickweed is the lime green plant with tiny white flowers trying to camouflage itself as alfalfa. (UC IPM)
Wild chicory flower, deep strong roots (Oswaldo Ochoa, UC Davis)
Plantain, more deep strong roots (UC IPM)
Sowthistle, deep roots (UC IPM)
Vetch, deep roots (UC ANR)
Fennel, more than an edible, also a pollinator attraction (DiTomaso, UC Davis Dept of Plant Science)
Wild radish flower heads attract pollinators (Di Tomaso, UC IPM)
One of several kinds of pigweed whose blooms attract pollinators(UC IPM)
Fava beans, widely used as green mulch in Napa County (UC ANR)
California Poppies by Cathi Bibeau
I am a third-generation California-born gal. I've grown different plants, but I could never grow...
Poppies!
These easy-going, drought tolerant plants sport soft fern-like blue-green foliage and four satiny petals that seem to glow from bright yellow-orange to deep orange. They mature in 55-75 days from seed to flower and favor full sun, poor soil (especially sandy soil) and offer good ground cover when mature. They perform well on slopes providing erosion control. If left to dry and re-seed, the capsules containing 60-100 or more seeds each will disperse themselves by catapulting out of the slender pod up to six feet from the plant. Poppies do not transplant well, nor do they make for good cut flowers, wilting quickly once cut, but they do produce abundant pollen and draw in bumble, honey, sweat and mining bees to pollinate.
This lovely ornamental and medicinal plant became the California state flower in 1903 and is one of eleven species of the Eschscholzia genus naturally occurring in the western US. Growing to 4”-12” tall and 6”-12” wide, they bloom most heavily from March-May. Thrips, aphids and leafhoppers can feed on the sap of the plants and Lepidopteran larvae may feed on the leaves and flowers. Diseases include powdery mildew and gray mold, usually occurring from lack of air circulation and too much humidity.
Some locations to see poppy meadows in spring include:
- Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve
- Carrizo Plain Wildflower Meadow
- Bear Valley Wildflower Meadows
- Poppy Meadows of Merced Valley
- Point Buchon Poppy Meadows
Long-blooming, Hardy Annuals
My new favorite book is Cool Flowers by Lisa Mason Ziegler (St. Lynn's Press). The subtitle of...
Why Honey Bees Forage in California Poppies
When you see honey bees foraging on the California poppy, the state flower, they're not there for...
Two honey bees foraging on a California poppy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey bee with a pollen load. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)