Most gardeners are fully appreciative of the beauty and brilliance which Oriental poppies lend to perennial plantings outdoors. Their unusual effectiveness as cut flowers in the home, however, seems to be largely overlooked. Of course, not even I would suggest that they have everything to make them the No. 1 favorite at every florist’s, but I will say that if you grow your own you can use them just as successfully and advantageously as any other flower, in the homes. The only thing is they do take a little more time and care to prepare for cut flower use. Once you’ve tried them, though, I’m positive you’ll agree the effort was handsomely rewarded.
Like all flowers, newly opened poppies should be cut early in the morning when they contain the maximum amount of moisture. Cut only about a dozen blooms at a time, and cut the stems the length you will want them for display. Then bring them indoors to your gas or electric range and hold the ends of the stems in the flame or slightly above it, which is the hottest place. Continue to burn them until the ends of the stems glow like coals. It’s true, many authorities simply advise dipping them in boiling water or singeing them with a candle flame. However, I find the heavy burning well worth the extra trouble. When you cut a poppy stem the milky juice ordinarily seals the end and it cannot absorb water. By burning you turn the end of the stem into charcoal, which is very absorbent, and this gives the flower a chance to absorb moisture.
Poppies should be burned as soon as cut; otherwise they begin to wilt in five to ten minutes. Put them in cool water in your container and, if you have to shorten any stems, be sure to reburn. They will keep for three days even if you set the container out in the hot sun, and in an air conditioned room they are good for a week. In fact, they never wilt, but simply drop their petals with age, just as they would in the garden.
There are a series of pastel shades ranging from old rose, lavender rose and wine color to mahogany that make ideal cut flowers, but these all fade in the sun and therefore have little garden value. Directions say plant in light shade, but even that does not hold the color, at least in our climate.
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