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Re: Romneya coulteri - Matilija Poppy

At 12:08 PM 7/22/98 +1000, you wrote:
>        <snip>
>     My garden is well and truly looking like a winter garden - I am 
>     currently doing the annual tidy up of my herbaceous/ shrub borders and 
>     was wondering if anyone has had experience in managing Romneya 
>     coulteri?
>     
>     Can I prune the stems back to keep it under control and looking fresh 
>     - I was hoping to prune to about a foot above the ground? Will it 
>     reshoot from the stems or the base? My garden doesn't get much frost 
>     (too close to the sea) - so could I prune now or would I have to wait 
>     for spring? (If it has any relevance, now is the right time for me to 
>     prune my roses.) Has anyone had success in transplanting suckers?
>        <snip>

Hi Susan -

Not really trying to be pedantic, but this plant is not 'California Poppy'
as you seemed to state in the original subject line of this post, but
rather the 'Matilija Poppy'.  The former is a very different plant - the
bright orange Eschscholzia californica, our state flower.

Romneyas start growing in Mediterranean climates in the fall, sending up
new shoots from their bases if cut down as you state.  If you cut them now,
I suspect you'll get little growth during the final 'dog days' of our dry
summer, but it will 'tidy up' the planting.  You might consider leaving
some longer portion of stems - those which look likely to produce some
small side shoots which might flower.  It takes a bit a effort for a
plant to reshoot from the base, easily done when the temps are cooler and
water more plentiful.  This plant is entering dormancy so let it take a
rest.

In the fall, cut back as you mentioned, and you will be rewarded with
many new shoots form the base.  When the temps are cooler, the air more
moist, and the soil opened from the rains, this is the time to dig the
fragile roots.  They are easily transplanted during this cooler time
before they get into serious growth.  When transplanted in heat and
drought, they cannot repair themselves and almost invariably rot and
shrivel up.  Many California native are the same - they don't do any
active growing in the dry summer so they can't repair themselves from a
transplant shock.  Fall is always the best time to plant in our climate,
whether Calif. natives or other plants.

As this plant is new to you, please note that it does 'spread a bit'
at the roots, especially when cut down as we're talking about.  Locate
it in an area in which you don't mind this trait, and you'll be more
pleased with its performance.  It also likes to get its roots under a
rock or concrete, and seems to gravitate towards such objects (no
doubt due to the relative abundance of moisture during drier times).
This can lead to most of the 6ft stems arising adjacent to a path - not
always what is desired!!

Happy gardening!
Sean O.

 Sean A. O'Hara                     sean.ohara@ucop.edu
 710 Jean Street                    (510) 987-0577
 Oakland, California 94610-1459     h o r t u l u s   a p t u s
 U.S.A.                             'a garden suited to its purpose'
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