Iceland poppy
Papaver nudicaule · Papaveraceae
Tissue-paper flowers in orange, yellow, white, salmon and pink, on bare, hairy stems above tufts of blue-green leaves. Sweetly scented.
- Size
- 16 in tall, 12 in wide
- Zones
- 2 to 7
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Early May to late June
- Pets
- Toxic (mild)
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around iceland poppy
The planner designed this bed around iceland poppy when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why iceland poppy stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Iceland poppy × 10, orange
- 2 October daphne × 5, pink
- 3 Winter heath × 3, white
- 4 False sunflower 'Summer Sun' × 3, yellow
- 5 Italian bugloss 'Dropmore' × 8, blue
- 6 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 5, purple
- 8 Red spider lily × 3, red
Why this plant
- The only open bowls. The others are dense clusters, bells, daisies and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only orange.
Why here
- In the middle. At 16 in it is the step between silver sage (12 in) in front and false sunflower 'Summer Sun' (3½ ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- 10 plants in 2 groups (7 and 3). Seen again further along, the same plant ties the bed together.
- Fine leaf against bold. Silver sage is beside it: the strongest contrast of leaf there is.
Why now
- In flower for 9 weeks. From early May to late June.
- Fills a gap. For three of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a cottage garden: 23 of the 30 plants (77%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. Winter heath is the first into flower, in late January, and October daphne the last to finish, in late October. The bed is balanced: the left half carries 53% of the visual weight and the right half 47%.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where iceland poppy goes in a border
At 16 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is short (12 to 18 in).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
A plant of the far North: it flowers best in cool weather and dies out in hot summers, so it is usually grown as a biennial for spring. It makes a good cut flower if the stem ends are seared.
- Spring bedding in cool climates
- Cutting
- Gravel and rock gardens
What to plant with iceland poppy
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Horned violet: purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for nine weeks; low enough (6 in) to stand in front of it.
- English daisy: in flower together for seven weeks, from early May; low enough (6 in) to stand in front of it.
- Blue fescue: its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after.
Questions about iceland poppy
Does iceland poppy need sun or shade?
Iceland poppy grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does iceland poppy grow in?
USDA zones 2 to 7. It is hardy to zone 2, which means it survives winter nights down to about −40 °F (−40 °C).
Above zone 7 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does iceland poppy flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early May to late June. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 3 | Mid May to early July |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Early May to early July |
| Zone 5 | Early May to late June |
| Zone 6 | Late April to late June |
| Zone 7 | Mid April to late June |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should iceland poppy be planted?
10 in (25 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 12 in (30 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 16 in (40 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many iceland poppy plants do I need?
At 10 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 17 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 13 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 55 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used 10 in two groups.
Is iceland poppy poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: mild toxicity to people, dogs, cats and horses. All parts contain alkaloids. Eating them can cause stomach upset and drowsiness.
Is there a pet-safe plant like iceland poppy?
These come closest to doing what iceland poppy does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Blanket flower 'Goblin': the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers mid June to early October, red, not orange.
- Hairy beardtongue: the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers late May to late June, lavender, not orange.
- Speedwell 'Red Fox': the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers late June to mid August, pink, not orange.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Will iceland poppy spread?
It seeds itself about; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Short-lived, and self-seeds in cool climates.
What flowers after iceland poppy?
Iceland poppy is over by late June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Black-eyed Susan: from mid July to mid September, 24 in tall.
- Butterfly weed: from late June to early August, 24 in tall.
- Daylily: from late June to early August, 2½ ft tall.
What does iceland poppy look like in winter?
Iceland poppy holds some of its leaves into winter, more in a mild year or a sheltered spot, and they look tired by March. Cut the old ones off as new growth starts.
More Papaver
- Oriental poppy Papaver orientale
- Oriental poppy 'Beauty of Livermere' Papaver orientale 'Beauty of Livermere'
- Oriental poppy 'Patty's Plum' Papaver orientale 'Patty's Plum'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 16 in (40 cm) tall, 12 in (30 cm) wide
- Plant
- 10 in (25 cm) apart
- Height class
- Short (12 to 18 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Early May to late June; open bowls; orange, yellow, white, pink, red
- Leaves
- Fine texture, semi-evergreen; blue-green
- Shape
- Mounding, self-seeding
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 2 to 7
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Papaveraceae
Checked against VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.