Oriental poppy 'Beauty of Livermere'
Papaver orientale 'Beauty of Livermere' · Papaveraceae
Enormous, single flowers of blood red with a black blotch at the base of each petal, on tall, stiff stems.
- Size
- 3½ ft tall, 2½ ft wide
- Zones
- 3 to 7
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late May to late June
- Pets
- Toxic (mild)
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around oriental poppy 'Beauty of Livermere'
The planner designed this bed around oriental poppy 'Beauty of Livermere' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why oriental poppy 'Beauty of Livermere' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Oriental poppy 'Beauty of Livermere' × 4, red
- 2 Winter heath × 5, pink
- 3 Sea thrift × 8, white
- 4 Gloriosa daisy 'Indian Summer' × 3, yellow
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Sunset hyssop × 3, orange
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 4, purple
- 8 Hyacinth 'Delft Blue' × 12, blue
Why this plant
- The only open bowls. The others are bells, globes, daisies and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only red.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 3½ ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to sunset hyssop (24 in) and gloriosa daisy 'Indian Summer' (3 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 4 plants in 2 groups (3 and 1). Seen again further along, the same plant ties the bed together.
Why now
- In flower for four weeks. From late May to late June.
- Fills a gap. For one of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
- Leaves gone by midsummer. They die back and leave bare ground. A perennial that comes up late stands beside it, and grows over the gap.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 6 groups (83%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. For contrast, the bold leaves of silver sage sit beside the fine leaves of oriental poppy 'Beauty of Livermere'. Not everything here depends on flower: silver sage earns its place with leaves.
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 oriental poppy 'Beauty of Livermere' goes in a border
At 3½ ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
The purest red among the oriental poppies, and the tallest. One clump is enough to carry a border for two weeks. Plan for the gap it leaves.
- Blood red for early summer
- A focal point in a large border
- Seed pods for drying
What to plant with oriental poppy 'Beauty of Livermere'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Blue false indigo: in flower together for three weeks, from late May.
- Bearded iris: in flower together for three weeks, from late May.
- Russian sage: takes over when it finishes, flowering from mid July.
Questions about oriental poppy 'Beauty of Livermere'
Does oriental poppy 'Beauty of Livermere' need sun or shade?
Oriental poppy 'Beauty of Livermere' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does oriental poppy 'Beauty of Livermere' grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 7. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °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 oriental poppy 'Beauty of Livermere' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late 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 June to late June |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Early June to late June |
| Zone 5 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 6 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 7 | Mid May to mid 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 oriental poppy 'Beauty of Livermere' be planted?
24 in (60 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 2½ ft (75 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 3½ ft (110 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many oriental poppy 'Beauty of Livermere' plants do I need?
At 24 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 3 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 6 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 10 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 four in two groups.
Is oriental poppy 'Beauty of Livermere' 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.
Rated from NC State Extension. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Is there a pet-safe plant like oriental poppy 'Beauty of Livermere'?
These come closest to doing what oriental poppy 'Beauty of Livermere' does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Foxglove beardtongue: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 6 in narrower, white, not red.
- False sunflower: the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers late June to early September, yellow, not red.
- Italian bugloss 'Dropmore': the same job in a bed; 6 in narrower, flowers late May to mid July.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat oriental poppy 'Beauty of Livermere'?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer and rabbits. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after oriental poppy 'Beauty of Livermere'?
Oriental poppy 'Beauty of Livermere' is over by late June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Russian sage: from mid July to mid September, 4 ft tall (a recorded partner).
- Bee balm: from early July to early August, 3 ft tall.
- Daylily: from late June to early August, 2½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does oriental poppy 'Beauty of Livermere' look like in winter?
Oriental poppy 'Beauty of Livermere' has long gone by winter: it dies down in summer, soon after flowering, and comes back in spring.
Is oriental poppy 'Beauty of Livermere' good for bees and butterflies?
Oriental poppy 'Beauty of Livermere' is visited by bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.
More Papaver
- Iceland poppy Papaver nudicaule
- Oriental poppy Papaver orientale
- Oriental poppy 'Patty's Plum' Papaver orientale 'Patty's Plum'
In these guides
- Deer-resistant perennials for full sun
- Rabbit-resistant plants
- Drought-tolerant perennials for full sun
- Garden plants toxic to cats
- Garden plants toxic to dogs
- Plants for hummingbirds
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 3½ ft (110 cm) tall, 2½ ft (75 cm) wide
- Plant
- 24 in (60 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late May to late June; open bowls; red
- Leaves
- Fine texture, summer-dormant; green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 7
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Papaveraceae
- Comes from
- Central Asia
- Attracts
- Bees, butterflies, hummingbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, rabbits, drought
Checked against NC State Extension and 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.