California Poppy 'Gold Rush'
Beautiful silky, fluted flowers in a rich, buttery cream colour. Easy to grow and drought tolerant, they bloom all Summer.
Yates Account
Join now
Create a Yates account today!
Sign up to join the Yates Garden Club for monthly e-mails packed with seasonal inspiration, tips for success & exclusive promotions.
Plus if you’re a Garden Club member you can take part in the Yates Growing Community - a blog to share successes, get advice & win prizes in fun challenges along the way!
Forgot password
Enter the email address associated with your account, and we'll email you a new password.
If you like poppies but want a low care version, you can’t go past the Californian Poppy (Eschscholzia californica). This annual provides vivid colour to your spring-summer garden with their bright oranges, reds, whites and yellows that just glow in the sun. Great for the easy care garden, cottage gardens or in pots for that burst of colour.
How to grow Californian Poppies in a garden
Starting from seed:
- Choose a position with full sun and well-drained soil.
- Enrich the soil with Yates Thrive Natural Blood & Bone with Seaweed.
- When planting into prepared garden bed, ensure seeds are well spaced – at least 20 to 30cm apart.
- Sow seeds directly into the soil where they are to grow. Sow in rows or in scattered clumps around the garden.
- Cover seeds with a 3mm layer of Yates Black Magic Seed Raising Mix. Lightly firm down and keep moist.
- Water in gently and keep soil moderately moist at all times.
- One seeds have germinated, mulch with an organic mulch such as bark chips, woodchip or pea straw to a depth of 5 - 8cm, keeping it away from the base of each plant.
- Feed with Yates Thrive Rose & Flower Granular Plant Food. TIP: for an added boost, apply Yates Thrive Roses & Flowers Liquid Plant Food.
How to grow Californian Poppies in a pot
Starting from seed:
- Choose a pot at least 200mm wide with adequate drainage holes.
- Position pot in full sun.
- Fill the pot with a quality potting mix such as Yates Premium Potting Mix.
- Sow seeds directly into the pot where they are to grow. Cover with a 3mm layer of Yates Black Magic Seed Raising Mix. Lightly firm down and keep moist.
- Water in gently and keep mix moderately moist at all times.
- Feed with Yates Thrive Roses & Flowers Liquid Plant Food. TIP: for an added boost, apply Yates Thrive Natural Fish & Seaweed+ Plant Food Concentrate.
California Poppy 'Sunshine Mix'
This vivid mix of warm oranges, reds, yellows and whites produces abundant blooms that glow and shimmer in the Sun.
California Poppy 'Thai Silk'
These exquisite ruffled blooms have lustrous, silky, rosy pink petals with touches of cranberry and lemon.
Growing tips
- Californian poppies dislike any root disturbances. Select the planting area carefully as they won’t transplant well after germination.
- Unlike traditional poppies, Californian Poppies can tolerate sandier soils./
- Avoid over-watering and poor-draining soil as overly moist conditions may cause the plant to rot.
- Remove spent flowers to encourage further blooms and to prevent self seeding.
More Plants
Proteas
Not just any old blossom, protea flowers are blooms with attitude. If you can give them full sun and reasonable drainage, proteas will love you.
Azalea
Azaleas vary from small, delicate shrubs that are happy in pots, up to hardy 1.5m shrubs ideal for border planting. Here's how to grow azaleas in your garden.
Lavender
Lavender are hardy perennial plants with silvery-grey, aromatic foliage & dense spike of flowers in shades of purple, blue, pink and white.
Echinacea
Echinacea is a hardy herbaceous perennial with large fragrant pink daisy-like flowers. Used for therapeutic purposes and as a delicious tea.
Recommended products
Yates Thrive Rose & Flower Granular Plant Food
Specially formulated to grow all types of flowers. With high potassium for large & abundant flowers, added calcium & iron for stronger flowers.
Yates Thrive Roses & Flowers Liquid Plant Food
Provides your flowers & roses with the balanced nutrients they require for healthy growth and flower production.
Yates Thrive Natural Blood & Bone with Seaweed
A certified organic garden input boosted with NZ Seaweed to gently nourish plants, enrich the soil and encourage a strong healthy root system.
Yates Black Magic Seed Raising Mix
Specially formulated for trouble-free seed raising in trays (or outdoor seed sowing direclty into the ground) and propagation of cuttings.
Share
Share this article on social media