Romneya
Habit | herbaceous
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Height: | ⇕ | 3 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 3. to 10 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 10. |
Width: | ⇔ | 4 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 4. to >12 ft">" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 12. |
Lifespan: | ⌛ | perennial |
Origin: | ✈ | S California, N Mexico |
Bloom: | ❀ | mid spring, late spring |
Exposure: | ☼ | sun |
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Water: | ◍ | dry, less when dormant |
Features: | ✓ | deciduous, flowers, fragrance, naturalizes, foliage, birds, wildlife, bees, cut flowers, drought tolerant |
USDA Zones: | 9 to 11 | |
Flower features: | ❀ | white, single |
Romneya > |
The Matilija poppy or tree poppy (Romneya Harvey, is a poppy of Southern California and Northern Mexico, belonging to the poppy family (Papaveraceae).
They are perennial subshrub with a woody stem. They may grow to a height of 2.5 meters (8 ft) and a width of 1 m (35 in), with the flowers up to 13 cm (5 in) across. The silvery green leaves are deeply cut, with a small fringe of hairs at the margin.
They are notable for their large white flowers with intense yellow centers, blooming in summer. These flowers prefer a warm, sunny spot and fertile soil with good water drainage. They are not easily grown, and also difficult to remove.
ExpandRead about Romneya in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
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Cultivation
In Southern California, R. coulteri grows best in sandy, well-drained soils. It dislikes summer water and for that reason does poorly near lawns. Home gardeners that are not willing to forego summer watering should avoid this plant. However, if it does not get summer water and is left to grow in a well-drained soil, it can become quite happy, almost invasive as it spreads by underground runners. If not overwatered, R. coulteri an survive in even heavy soil, but will not be as effusive. For a plant that can be exuberant as the Matillija Poppy, this is not necessarily a bad thing.
Propagation
The plant is easily propagated by cuttings of runners if taken when the plant is dormant or nearly so. A length of root containing several nodes can be placed an inch or so below the surface in a pot of well-drained planting medium and the plant will readily send up shoots. If the pot is at least a gallon, once well-rooted, it can be set out into the garden. Once it is established in the garden it will spread.
By seed, the plant is not as forgiving. The seed sprouts readily if it is fresh and if a fire treatment is used. In a clay pot, scatter the seed, cover with dry pine needles and dried leaves from other trees (because R. coulteri grows often near or with California endemic oaks, using dried oak leaves seems to work better than random leaves). These are set on fire and allowed to burn down, the seeds are watered in and germination takes place within three weeks - no special treatment is used after that, the pot with the seeds is placed in a warm sunny location.
However, once the seed has sprouted, the seedlings at some point must be transplanted into their own container and the mortality of this process is far too high to be anything more than an exercise to teach propagation. Out of 45 sprouted seeds in a recent trial, only 3 survived to actually be planted out in the garden. Propagation by root cuttings is definitely a more successful adventure.
Species
The genus includes only two species:
- Coulter's Matilija poppy (Romneya coulteri) Harvey
- Bristly Matilija poppy (Romneya trichocalyx) Eastwood - some consider this a variant Romneya coulteri var. trichocalyx