How to Plant and Grow Corn Poppy

With their brilliant orange-red paper-like blooms, corn poppies add a ton of color to the garden. They are also called field poppies, a reference to this wildflower’s tendency to naturalize in open fields. Corn poppies are easy to grow and often self-seed, allowing them to appear year after year. In addition to the classic fire engine-red species, there are also corn poppy varieties in different colors.

Where to Plant Corn Poppy

Corn poppies need a location in full sun with well-draining soil that is slightly acidic to neutral.

Mass planting of corn poppies in beds, borders, meadows, and naturalized areas is especially attractive but they also work scattered among late spring-blooming perennials in cottage-style landscapes. However, it is not recommended to interplant corn poppies, which are native to Europe, North Africa, and Asia, with wildflowers native to North America to avoid the latter being outcompeted.

How and When to Plant Corn Poppy

Poppies are best planted from seed directly outdoors in their intended location because they do not transplant well. In order to germinate, the seeds need two weeks of cold stratification. In Zones 3 to 7, this is accomplished by planting them in the early spring when light frosts are still possible. In Zones 8 to 10, planting the seeds in late autumn or winter usually gives them the cold treatment they need to germinate.

Scatter the seeds over the weed-free soil (mixing seed and sand in a ratio of 1:5 helps to scatter them evenly) and gently press them into the soil. Barely cover them with fine soil, no deeper than 1/16 inch, as they need light to germinate. Mark the location well.

Keep the planting area evenly moist. Once the seedlings emerge, you can thin them to 6 to 8 inches apart.

Corn Poppy Care Tips

Corn poppies are easy to grow and require every little care.

Light

Always plant corn poppies in full sun.

Soil and Water

Undemanding in terms of soil requirements, they grow well in average, well-drained soil with a pH between 6.1 and 7.3. They do well in moist soil but can also tolerate dry soil.

Watering them regularly helps them thrive but it is not essential, unless in extremely dry weather.

Temperature and Humidity

Corn poppies both germinate and flower best in cool to moderately warm weather. They do not tolerate heat and humidity well and aren't suitable for summers above Zone 10.

Fertilizer

The plants do fine in nutrient-poor soil and fertilizing them is not necessary.

Pruning

To extend the bloom time, regularly deadhead the spent flowers. Removing the spent flowers before they set seed also prevents the plant from self-seeding if that is not desired.

Potting and Repotting Corn Poppy

While corn poppies can be grown in pots, their visual effect is most striking when planted in groups so use the largest possible container. Make sure it has large drainage holes and fill it with well-draining potting mix. Unlike corn poppies in the landscape, container-grown plants need frequent watering, as the soil dries out rapidly, especially in hot summer weather.

Repotting is not required as the life cycle of corn poppies only lasts one season.

Pests and Problems

Corn poppies are free of serious insect or diseases and resistant to deer and rabbits. The plants occasionally attract aphids. Wet conditions and poor soil drainage can lead to root rot. In high humidity, the plants are prone to get fungal diseases such as botrytis blight and powdery mildew.

How to Propagate Corn Poppy

If you are growing the straight species, or an open-pollinated heirloom variety of corn poppies, you can collect the seeds and replant them the next near as described above (seeds from cultivars won’t produce plants that are true to type).

Types of Corn Poppy

Shirley

The Shirley group of cultivars goes back to 1880 England when a variant of the field poppy with a narrow white border around the petals was discovered. It led to the breeding of many different varieties: single, semidouble, or double blooms in shades of yellow, pink, rose, orange, and red, many with bicolor or picotee petals. Popular Shirley poppies include ‘Mother of Pearl’ with delicate pink or lilac flowers.

‘American Legion’

The trademark of this corn poppy cultivar is a clear white cross in the center of the large, bright red flowers with papery, tissue-like petals.

‘Bridal Silk’

This white poppy cultivar has silky petals and creamy yellow anthers. 

‘Amazing Grey’

The unusual color of this variety with tissue paper-like petals ranges from delicate lavender or cloud grey to slate blue.

Corn Poppy Companion Plants

Celosia

Whether you plant the plumed type with its striking upright spires or the crested type with its fascinating twisted form, there are few annual flowers as showy as celosias. The plants do better in garden beds than in pots and its colorful flowers are produced in abundance all over the plant, and they last for a very long time.

Cornflower

Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus) is an annual wildflower that is native to Europe but has naturalized widely in North America. Its purple-blue flowers grow on 3-foot tall stems from late spring well into the summer. Like all Centaurea species, it is a prolific nectar producer that attracts butterflies.

Cosmos

These warm-weather annuals fill your garden with vibrant colors when the corn poppies are done blooming. There are many cosmos varieties to choose from, ranging from the classic single saucer-shaped flowers with yellow centers and white, pink, or red rays to cultivars with bicolored, semi-double, or double flowers.