The California poppy is our state flower. Poppy seeds, along with lupine seeds, have been planted in the Marquez School Native American Garden by Ms. Palo's and Ms. Chaides' classes. They were lightly covered with mulch and are watered weekly. They hopefully will join with the seeds shed by last spring's poppies to create a mass of orange blossoms at the front of the school. The poppy self seeds.
Since poppies like poor soil conditions, we will plant them in other areas around school as well and hope for winter rains.
Once the poppies bloom, we can cut them back and they will re bloom. We can also save the seeds: when the petals drop off you see a long seed pod. Let the pod turn brown and cut it off or wait for it to open. The seeds will be inside.
Check out these articles:
The Davis Enterprise : http://www.davisenterprise.com/features/the-california-poppy-fall-planting-is-best-for-their-natural-life-cycle/;
Theodore Payne: http://www.theodorepayne.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Eschscholzia_californica
US Forest Service: https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/eschscholzia_californica.shtml
The poppy leaves are used by indigenous peoples for several things including to relieve toothaches and headaches. Some also use the plant for food.
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