The Oriental poppy is from the Papaveracea family and is botanically known as Papaver orientale. This poppy is one that is seen in many gardens because of its beauty, with six petals that have a black blotch in the center of the petal.

The Oriental poppy is one of the species that is easy to grow and can adapt to many locations the petals are an orange scarlet color, pinks and reds, with the unique black blotch in the center. Although some hybrids can be found in other colors such as salmon pink or white, however they still have the unique blotching in the center of the petal to prove they are of the Oriental poppy species. They take from 10 to 20 days to germinate and will flower through summer and in late summer become dormant.

This poppy is native to Asia and is a hearty flower that can survive most climates if mulched. In the right soil conditions and in partial shade they will thrive and for a second bloom the stem should be cut along with the spent flower or it can be left to drop the seeds from its pod for reseeding the garden. This poppy grows between 2 ½ and 4 feet in height, and its blooms can be as wide as 4 to 6 inches across. Their foliage has a fern like appearance in a dark green to almost gray color, with stems of medium thickness.

For the gardener the plant has many different colors, which can be found in either deep hues or in pastels ranging from white, red, orange, yellow and even blue. There are also hybrids and some of these can be found in colors such as purple that is so deep it almost appears black and is a natural in the garden.