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Yank Lupine and Poppies?

15 years ago

I planted some Lupine and Poppies and other California native flowers in an area that receives no irrigation besides winter rains and the occasional drink of water from a neighbor. The plants put on a lovely spring show but are now dried up. Should they be yanked out? Are Lupine and Poppies annuals or perennials? Any suggestions for plants to replace them in that spot for the summer?

-Ray

Comments (5)

greenhaven
15 years ago
If you planted locally native plants in the right conditions they should come back next year. At any rate, I wouldn't yank them, against the possibility that they have just gone dormant for the dry, hot season. Wait and see, wait and see...
kelpmermaid
15 years ago
The poppies are annuals, and they are very good at self-seeding. I cleaned mine out - they just get really ratty looking towards the end. They'll be back next year, I'm sure.
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I bought from Garden Harvest Supply this spring and was so very pleased with all the plants I purchased, as well as how they were packaged for shipping. Every plant I bought is growing well and is healthy. Many of the perennials arrived blooming and some are still blooming. They are having a 20% off sale on perennials according to the website: http://www.gardenharvestsupply.com/ProductCart/pc/-c112.htm It looks like some of the poppies are still available but not the Lupines. Why not try Winter Sowing some lupines? I grew some dwarf lupines from seed planted in the spring one year and several years later I still have new volunteers that came up from seed from the originals, which only last a year or two here. I bought a Gallery Lupine this spring at a local nursery but it has not bloomed as yet. I may have to wait until next year for it, but you never know. I have had them bloom in the fall when I didn't expect them to flower. Good Luck, Linda
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I NEED to yank! I've been gone on vacation and I came back to a veritable jungle in my yard. I hate to complain, but all the rain has made gardening a little difficult this year! I appreciate not having to water, but now I can't keep up with the weeding...half the time I can't even walk in the yard it is so squishy. It's been interesting to see all the plants that thrived (or at least grew) in the drought have not taken well to constant rain. I noticed my natural gas meter has been swallowed up....I guess I'm going to have to get out there before it can no longer be found :) But other than the meter, the rest will have to wait. I moved out of my house to have my floors refinished and now I have the gigantic task of (re)-picking paint colors (the color I first chose is nasty!), painting, cleaning, and then moving back in! Funny story...last night as I was covered in sawdust, cleaning my ceiling fan in the bedroom, I hear this little knock-knock on the front door. My porch light is burned out, so I clambered off the little step ladder, went to the front door, of course couldn't see out (although the entire neighborhood can see in at the moment!), opened the door and it was my next door neighbor. Apparently I had been the subject of much discussion. They were almost convinced I had moved, but he was sure I wouldn't have left without my "garden ornaments". I laughed, and agreed, but didn't tell him I would have taken a lot more than the ornaments! There would have had to have been a moving truck for the plants! Bakemom....thanks! Lisa
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ladyslppr
15 years ago
The poppies don't have to be yanked out, but you can pull them if they are dead. Some poppies are annuals, which bloom, set seeds, then completely die each year, but others are, I think perennial, so if some of the poppies have green leaves, even if just at the base, I would leave them. You could trim them back to the base to make them look neater, if you like. I am not sure about the lupines - there are many types.
lemecdutex
15 years ago
If they're shrubby lupines, then they're perennial, if they were not shrubby, then they could be perennial or annual. You might do a google search on lupines to see which kind(s) you have. The seed pods spring open and send the seeds flying. If you've got a kind that's happy with your spot, you should have lots of them come up every year, as long as they don't meet public enemies #1 & #2, slug/snails and gophers.

Some california poppies can be short-lived perennials (2 or 3 years), and prickly poppies can be either annual or perennial, but most are annual (especially in wildflower mixes).

--Ron
evonnestoryteller
15 years ago
If you have perrenial lupine, cut them back after blossoming. You can potentially get a second flush of blossoms. I cut mine back quite a bit, and the foliage is growing out nicely.

I grow several types of poppy. The oriental poppy die back after blossoming and leave a hole in the garden. I cut them at the base and they do come back next year. Plant annuals around them to fill in the area.

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