Papaver somniferum 'Black Beauty'

An incredibly glamorous poppy with sumptuous, double, black peony flowers, lovely silvery leaves and fantastic architectural seedpods.

Opium poppies are a wonderful garden flower which pops up of its own volition, from one year to the next. Beautiful in flower and the seedpods are fantastic for arranging – we use them fresh, dried and sprayed silver at Christmas and of course the seeds are delicious in baking and toasted for salads – an all round unmissable posse of plants.

Please note: This is harmful if eaten.

Genus	Papaver somniferum
Group/Species	somniferum
Variety	Black Beauty
Type	Hardy Annual
Common Name	Opium Poppy
Border Position	Border (Middle)
Soil Type	Broad Tolerance
Scent	Unscented
Site	Full Sun
Moisture	Well-drained
Height	90cm (36in)
Spacing	30cm (12in)
Sowing, Seeds, Planting	Dislikes root disturbance so best sown direct. Scatter seeds through borders in spring or autumn. Easy to grow in any well-drained soil in full sun or light shade.
Care Tips	Pick or deadhead flowers regularly to encourage growth and to prolong flowering. Remove seed heads if you do not want it to self-seed. Caution: Harmful if eaten.
Flowering	Late May - August, 10 weeks from a spring sowing
Vase Life	Flowers won't last more than 24 hours even if you sear stem ends. Use them cut short and floated in bowl of water. The seed pods last indefinitely.
Harvesting	Flower production: 2 months.

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec

Sow Under Cover/Plant Indoors
Direct Sow/Plant Outdoors
Flowers/Harvest

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Papaver somniferum 'Black Beauty' reviews

Average based on 6 reviews

Reviewed 31st July 2019 by Linda

Good germination rate (75% ish), not all were black but the colours were lovely so I wasn't disappointed.

Reviewed 31st July 2019 by Isobel

Unfortunately only a few seeds lasted to maturity and flowered but those that did were spectacular. It has been a weird spring and summer so perhaps the weather was a factor plus my voracious snails!

Reviewed 31st July 2019 by Niall

good and efficient service. Have noticed a high proportion of single flowers this year!

Reviewed 31st July 2019 by Christine

Nothing germinated despite bare ground sowing

Not quite what we were expecting

Reviewed 20th February 2018 by Debra Lapthorne

The seeds we sewed last year grew as small single red field poppies, not papaver somniferum which was rather disappointing.

Reply from the Sarah Raven Team:

"Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry to hear that your seeds appear to have flowered incorrectly and apolgise for the disappointment. We are unaware of any other reports of this happening, so if you would like to try a replacement packet then we will of course send you one so that you can try again. We have made a note on your account and if you contact our customer service team at info@sarahraven.com or by calling 0345 092 0283 we will arrange for your seeds to be sent out to you or alternatively, if you prefer, we can arrange for the packet to be refunded.
Kind Regards, The Sarah Raven Team"

Posted 21st February 2018

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