California poppy: when to sow, plant and see it flower
Sowing, planting and flowering dates for your climate, with growing advice.
Photo: Nennieinszweidrei, Pixabay Content License · image resized
When to sow and plant in your region
Average dates, computed from the frost dates of each climate. For your exact dates, choose your town.
| Climate | Sow outdoors | Flowering |
|---|---|---|
| South and east of England | 20 February – 22 May | 23 May – 3 October |
| South-west England and Wales | 9 February – 11 May; 20 September – 19 October | 12 May – 19 October |
| Midlands, northern England and Northern Ireland | 3 March – 2 June | 3 June – 2 October |
| Scotland | 13 March – 12 June | 13 June – 12 October |
| Ireland | 17 February – 19 May; 11 September – 10 October | 20 May – 10 October |
Growing
- Life cycle
- Annual (sown and in flower the same year)
- Family
- Papaveraceae
- Latin name
- Eschscholzia californica
- Cold tolerance
- Half-hardy (dislikes hard frost)
- Soil temperature to germinate
- 15 °C minimum
- Emergence
- 10–14 days
- Spacing
- 15–20 cm
Sources
- Gerbeaud — flower and bulb fiches (cosmos, souci, capucine, tournesol, alysse, zinnia, nigelle de Damas, coquelicot, pavot de Californie, pois de senteur, muflier, reine-marguerite, ipomée, mauve annuelle, annuelles rustiques, giroflée ravenelle, digitale, myosotis, pensée, rose trémière, pâquerette, lupin, ancolie, delphinium, échinacée, rudbeckia, gaillarde, achillée, tulipe, crocus, jacinthe, perce-neige, muscari, ail d'ornement, dahlia, glaïeul, lis, bulbes d'automne, profondeur de plantation)
- Jardiner Malin — flower and bulb fiches (same species; the lin, bleuet and lavatère pages are seed product pages, and lin is red flax)
- Royal Horticultural Society — growing guides (annuals and biennials: sowing in spring, sowing in autumn; sunflower, sweet pea, zinnia, lavatera, foxglove, lupin, hollyhock, delphinium, aquilegia, rudbeckia, achillea, tulip, daffodil, crocus, hyacinth, snowdrop, allium, dahlia, gladioli, lily, bulbs)
- RHS — Plant pages (hardiness ratings H1-H7)
- Johnny's Selected Seeds — Flower Growing Guide and key growing information pages