A vivid Poppy Ladybird by Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden opens amid green foliage, viewed from above. The softly blurred background highlights its scarlet-red petals with black centers and intricate stamens.
A vivid Poppy Ladybird by Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden opens amid green foliage, viewed from above. The softly blurred background highlights its scarlet-red petals with black centers and intricate stamens.The Poppy Ladybird from Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden features striking scarlet-red flowers with four bold black spots, standing out vividly against a backdrop of lush green leaves and other colorful blooms.Scarlet-red Poppy Ladybird blooms from Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden, joined by orange and yellow nasturtiums and two red poppies, brighten a garden bed with green leaves and mulch under natural sunlight.A yellow circular badge with a black and white bee and "RHS PLANTS FOR POLLINATORS" in black—ideal for featuring Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden’s Poppy Ladybird, famed for its vibrant scarlet-red blooms from quality seeds.The Poppy Ladybird by Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden features vivid scarlet-red blooms with bold dark spots, a detailed floral center, and is complemented by lush foliage with light green, rounded leaves.Two bright red Poppy Ladybird flowers from Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden, each with black spots, bloom among green leaves and orange-yellow nasturtiums in a vibrant garden of varied foliage.A vivid scarlet-red Poppy Ladybird flower from Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden, with black-spotted petals reminiscent of a ladybug. The blurred green leaves and mulch make it ideal for growing from Poppy Ladybird seeds.A vibrant garden features Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden’s Poppy Ladybird with scarlet-red blooms, orange and yellow nasturtiums, green leaves, and touches of purple flowers, all bathed in sunlight.Green circular logo with a trophy in the center and “RHS Award of Garden Merit,” showing Royal Horticultural Society recognition for outstanding plants like Poppy Ladybird from Bishy Barnabees Cottage Garden, known for its scarlet-red flowers.
Annual Pollinator AGM

Poppy Ladybird

Papaver commutatum 'Ladybird' -- RHS AGM; RHS Pollinators

£2.10approx. 700 seeds

Vibrant scarlet cups with huge contrasting black blotches — the dramatic "ladybird-pattern" poppy. RHS Award of Garden Merit, hardy annual, exceptional bee plant.

Sowing months
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Height
45cm
Spread
30cm
Spacing
25-30cm
Position
Full sun is essential to produce the best flowering and prevent weak, leggy stems.
Soil
Thrives in moist but well-drained, moderately fertile soil. However, it is adaptable to poorer soils and often flourishes without extra feeding, which can cause excessive leaf growth over blooms.
Grow guide
How to grow Poppy Ladybird
Read the full guide →
About this variety

Scarlet cups with a huge black blotch at the base of each petal, so the four together make a bold black cross at the centre of the flower. It is where the name comes from and it is unmistakable. It holds an RHS Award of Garden Merit.

It is bushier and more compact than the field poppy, at 45 to 50cm, with the same tissue-paper petals. Where 'Flanders Red' is delicate and drifting, this is emphatic, and one plant carries across a border in a way the field poppy does not. Bees work it hard for the dark high-protein pollen, and the open cup shape means they get to it easily.

Sow direct where it is to flower, because poppies do not transplant. Surface-sow and do not cover, since the seed needs light. Autumn sowing gives stronger plants than spring. Do not feed it, and thin to 20 or 25cm. To cut it, take the bud just as it is splitting and sear the stem end immediately with a match, or the milky sap runs and the flower collapses in the vase.

Plant alongside

Poppy Ladybird pairs beautifully with these cottage garden classics

Poppy Flanders Red
Poppy Flanders Red
£1.59
Cornflower Blue Ball
Cornflower Blue Ball
£2.30
Bupleurum Griffithii
Bupleurum Griffithii
£1.95

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 →

RHS Award of Garden Merit

The RHS Award of Garden Merit is given to plants of outstanding excellence for ordinary garden use. To earn this award a plant must be of good constitution, available to the gardening public, and perform reliably across a range of UK growing conditions. It is one of the most trusted plant recommendations in British gardening and a genuine mark of quality.

Learn more at RHS.org.uk →