Poppy Californian Golden West (Eschscholzia californica) – golden-orange blooms and closed buds

Poppy Californian Golden West

£2.10
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Poppy Californian Golden West (Eschscholzia californica) – golden-orange blooms and closed buds
RHS Plants for PollinatorsBeginner friendly

Poppy Californian Golden West

Eschscholzia californica 'Golden West' -- Californian Poppy

4 reviews

Silky golden-yellow cup-shaped flowers with deep-orange hearts on mounds of silver-blue foliage — the drought-tolerant solar-powered hardy annual that thrives on neglect.

£2.10

Free UK delivery on seed orders over £40

Dispatched from our Norfolk farm by Royal Mail, usually within one working day.

Your growing year

Sow, plant out and flowering months for this variety

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Sow
Plant out
In flower
SowPlant outIn flower

At a glance

Height
30cm-40cm
Spread
25cm
Spacing
15cm
Position
Must have a sun-drenched, open spot. Shady conditions will prevent the silky flowers from opening.
Colour
Orange
Seeds per packet
300
Soil
Thrives in poor, sandy, or rocky soil.
Grow guide How to grow Poppy Californian Golden West Read the full guide →

About this variety

Silky cups of golden-yellow with a deep orange heart, sitting on mounds of finely cut silver-blue foliage at 25 to 30cm. The foliage alone is worth the space before a flower opens.

It is the plant for the patch of dry poor ground where nothing settles. The poorer the soil the better it flowers; manure or feed it and you get lush leaves and almost nothing else. Full sun is not negotiable either, because the flowers stay shut in shade. They also close in the evening and on dull days, twisting into neat spirals, which is a protection mechanism and does mean a grey week gives you very little. On a bright morning it is a pool of light.

It self-seeds prolifically. The long pods split in late summer and scatter, so once you have it in a gravel path or on a dry bank it tends to stay for good. And it cannot be moved: the roots are deep and sensitive and a transplanted plant almost always dies, so sow it exactly where you want it.

RHS Plants for Pollinators

This plant has been assessed by the Royal Horticultural Society and recommended as especially beneficial to bees, butterflies and other pollinators. Growing plants like this directly supports UK pollinator populations — something close to our hearts at Salle Moor Hall Farm, where we see the difference a cottage garden full of the right plants can make.

Learn more at RHS.org.uk →
  • 5 stars: 3 (75%)
  • 4 stars: 0 (0%)
  • 3 stars: 0 (0%)
  • 2 stars: 0 (0%)
  • 1 star: 1 (25%)
L
Liane

More yellow than orange. Not my fave colour

C
Christopher Berrisford
Autumn seed box

Beautifully presented!! Good number of seeds per packet and a lovely selection of flowers !
It was estimated to arrive, a bit too late , as we were going away and wanted to give it to my sister in law, before we went.. a quick E mail to the seller, and it was dispatched immediately and arrived in time… excellent!!

T
Tamsin Wilson

One of my mums favourite flowers to grow. Such a treat to have seeds delivered so quickly to my door.

C
Christopher

Very fast delivery