Eschscholtzia
Hardy Perennial
One to two feet.
Flowers of several colours, June to September.
A very gay and most accommodating plant. The
foliage is much cut, pale grey-green, and drooping;
the flowers are single, somewhat of the shape
and texture of poppies; in the bud state they
are enclosed in a sheath something between a nightcap
and an umbrella case, which they partly split
and partly push off as they expand.
The older and best-known form of the plant, Eschscholtzia
crocea, has bright orange-yellow flowers; the
newer kinds are Mandarin (orange and red), crocea
alba (creamy white), and Rose Cardinal (rose-coloured).
All may be treated as annuals, and sown in March
where they are to flower; they also do very well
if sown in August for early summer blooming.
The seedlings must be severely thinned, as a well-developed
plant will easily cover a space of a square yard.
In addition to other good qualities Eschscholtzia
is drought-proof.
Because of its hardiness and free growth it tends
to become a weed in many gardens, and in light,
kindly soils it is a question whether it ought
to be grown at all.
In such conditions it seeds and spreads like Groundsel,
and its long, tough cap roots seem almost in eradicable.
Any one who wants to fill a rough border with
little trouble should certainly grow it; but those
with a leaning to orderliness and the “place
for everything and everything in its place”
theory, should think twice before introducing
it into their ground.
See also : Californian
Poppy
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