How to Grow and Care for Himalayan poppy

The story of the discovery of the himalayan blue poppy is complicated: its sighting in northwest China was included in a report in 1886 and again during an unsuccessful Mt. Everest expedition in 1922. The wide spread-out leaves give the blue blossoms a slightly-drooping bowl-shaped appearance with a loose cluster of golden anthers in the center.

Prickly blue poppy is an endangered flowering plant that produces vibrant tissue-paper-textured blue flowers and spiked stems and leaves. It is because of these characteristics that Prickly blue poppy gets its name. It is a popular ornamental and horticultural plant, but it is difficult to grow, so its cultivation is limited.

Sulphur poppy is a perennial herb. Unusually, it has two distinct growth habits: when growing high on mountainsides, in scree piles, or other high elevation less ideal sites, it assumes a dwarf form with only one or a few flowers. In more ideal conditions at lower altitudes, it can be two to four times taller and have profuse foliage and blooms.

Meconopsis wilsonii is sometimes grown ornamentally for its large and elegant drooping purple flowers. This plant is relatively new to ornamental growth. It is valued for the long-blooming flowers which are a good height for the middle or back of beds and borders. Meconopsis wilsonii gets its name from the botanist who identified it, Ernest Henry Chinese Wilson (1876 – 1930).

Himalayan blue poppy is a very distinctive and ornamental poppy with an unusual blue flower. This standout garden plant has gifted growers with long-lasting flowers ever since it was popularized in the 1980s. It won't produce flowers in excessive heat but it is able to die back under such conditions and return the following year, rewarding patience.