Plume poppy is a large, clump-forming herbaceous perennial grown for its airy plumes of buff-white flowers and grey-green, lobed foliage. It is vigorous and self-seeds freely, so give it space or deadhead before seed set.
Family
Papaveraceae (Poppy family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Water regularly during dry spells, especially in the first year while established.
Soil
Any fertile, moist but well-drained soil.
Temperature
Hardy to about -20 °C; tolerates cold winters well.
How easy
Easy
Native range
C. & S. China, C. & S. Japan to Taiwan
Climate
temperate
About
Macleaya cordata, the five-seeded plume-poppy, is a species of flowering plant in the poppy family Papaveraceae, which is used ornamentally. It is native to China and Japan. It is a large herbaceous perennial growing to 2.5 m (8 ft) tall by 1 m (3 ft) or more wide, with olive green leaves and airy panicles of buff-white flowers in summer.
How to grow it
It self-seeds readily and can be invasive, so in cultivation requires space. It is a popular subject for flower arranging. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Macleaya × kewensis, bred at Kew Gardens, is a hybrid of M. cordata and M. microcarpa. The cultivar 'Flamingo' has pink tinged flowers, and has also received the Award of Garden Merit.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Macleaya cordata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.