Oriental poppy can be started from seeds but will not flower until the second (or third) year. It can be planted with other species of annuals and perennials that will provide color in the area once the poppies go dormant. Care should be taken not to overwater it during its dormant period which, in many cases, extends throughout the winter. Oriental poppy prefers well-drained soil and a sunny exposure. In Missouri, it flowers in the spring (usually April) and will seemingly disappear from the landscape by July because of the heat. Like most poppies, the Oriental poppy is not suited for extremely hot summers and usually responds by going dormant when warm temperatures arrive. Broken stems and leaves yield a white, milky sap. The latter is low-growing and sharply toothed, with a bristly feel. Borne singly on wiry stems, they are held well-above the foliage. Its flowers are from 3½ to 4 inches in diameter and have petal with a crepe-paper texture. It produces large orange-red flowers that are spectacular. The Oriental poppy ( Papaver orientale) has the distinction of being the most popular garden poppy. Although it bears a flower that is quite attractive, the opium poppy is illegal to grow in Missouri. Among the annual poppies (in addition to Flanders poppy) is the more notorious opium poppy ( Papaver somniferum). The Oriental poppy and Iceland poppy are two of the most familiar perennial types. Most are cold tolerant and prefer locations with relatively cool summers. There are both annual and perennial species of poppies. Poppies belong to the Papaveraceae (or poppy) family which contains 30 genera and about 600 species. It is from this poppy that the garden poppies we know as Shirley poppies were developed. It is a common flower native to Europe that grew wild in the cemeteries of Europe used to bury fallen soldiers of World War I. The poppy referred to by McCrae is known today as the Corn poppy or Flanders poppy ( Papaver rhoeas). May is an appropriate month to take a closer look at this colorful flower steeped with symbolism. Nearly a century later the poppy still symbolizes Memorial Day and is used to honor our fallen military heros. The hauntingly beautiful words of McCrae immortalized poppy as one of the most recognized memorial symbols to honor soldiers who died in combat. These opening lines from the poem ‘Flanders Fields’ were written in 1914 by Canadian physician and Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae. Hear more of the story of the Poppy Lady as told by Pattye Meagher of Georgia Historical Society in the audio link below.Ĭlick here for more about this Hidden History that aired on GPB’s On Second Thought.“In Flanders fields the poppies blow, Between the crosses row on row” “However you’re going to mark this Memorial Day holiday,” she noted, “as we pause to remember the men and women who made that ultimate sacrifice, stop for a minute and think about Moina, this wonderful teacher from North Georgia who, because of her own personal commitment, gave us this wonderful tradition of wearing poppies for Memorial Day.” “So because she decided to wear a poppy, she saw that tradition spread there in New York, then to Georgia and across the United States and ultimately back to France and throughout Europe,” said Meagher. A year later, they convinced the national American Legion to do the same. The Georgia American Legion went on to adopt the poppy as its floral symbol in 1920. Other people started wearing these poppies and it just kept spreading and spreading there in New York, and it earned her the nickname ‘the poppy lady’. Other people at the YMCA training center saw what she was doing and thought it was a good idea so they started doing it. “Feeling her need to play her part in the war effort, she left and went to NYC in 1918 to work for the YMCA Overseas War Workers Training Headquarters at Columbia University. “A few years later in 1917, 100 years ago this year, the United States entered World War I,” Meagher continued. She was actually visiting Germany in 1914 when the war broke out.” “She became a teacher in 1885 and she taught in Good Hope, she taught in Monroe, and she eventually went to teach for the Lucy Cobb Institute in Athens. “Moina Belle Michael was a native of Good Hope, Georgia,” recounted Pattye Meagher, Director of Communications for Georgia Historical Society. A school teacher from North Georgia is the one who started the tradition of wearing red poppies to mark the day of remembrance for fallen American soldiers. As we look ahead to the Memorial Day holiday, images of red poppies might come to mind.

Types of remembrance poppy