Meconopsis baileyi ‘Alba’

HIMALAYAN

WHITE POPPY

Meconopsis baileyi “Alba’
HIMALAYAN WHITE POPPY

Meconopsis baileyi ‘Alba’ is the exquisite, pure white form of the fabled Himalayan Blue Poppy.

Exquisite pure white satin poppies

Once seen in bloom, these silken beauties are never forgotten, and always lusted after.
Besotted gardeners will walk over cut glass to have Himalayan Poppies blooming in their garden.
And the white form is even more rarely seen.

Flocks of silken white 

Meconopsis baileyi ‘Alba’ bears flocks of large, spectacular poppies in pristine white, adorned with a crown of golden stamens.
The silky petals are so fine they are almost translucent, and breathtakingly beautiful as they flutter in the breeze in spring & summer.
Blue-grey leaves perfectly complement the virginal flowers.

Treasures for the shade

Meconopsis baileyi ‘Alba’ enjoys a sheltered, shaded, cool spot in the garden or in a pot.
And they love humus rich, damp, well drained neutral to acid soil.

The secret is they love humid air

The secret is to find a place where you can keep the humidity in the air up – so a shade house or fernery area is perfect, and stand a decorative bowl of water near your plants (or even several) toi keep the air around them moist, especially on hot days.

Brag worthy flowers

Once you have your treasures happily settled into the right spot, they will self seed for you to form colonies of breath-taking flowers on stately spires.
And then you take photographs from every angle, open a Facebook account, and brag unmercifully.

Even though they are only a short lived perennial – it does not matter – they are worth everything just to see Himalayan Poppy flowers in the flesh.

75-90cm. High slender stems of flowers x 30cm. Wide flat rosette of furry blue-grey foliage.

SEED SOWING ADVICE: Meconopsis baileyi

Meconopsis seeds can be sown at any time in good quality seed raising mix, whenever suitable temperatures can be provided (12-15°C).

First sow the seeds in a punnet, on the surface of good quality seed raising mix.
Then cover the seeds thinly with river sieved seed raising mix.

Now thoroughly moisten the sown punnet well by standing it in a shallow water bath, and allowing the moisture to percolate all the way through to the surface from below.

Then place the sown, moist punnet in a cool, well lit spot (not in any direct sunlight).
No artificial heat is needed as this can cause rapid germination and fungal attack, or make the seed go into a deeper dormancy.
Temperatures of around 12-15°C are ideal. They do not mind cold night temperatures.

Seedlings usually appear within 3 to 6 weeks but some can take much longer.
But this is a normal process in nature to stagger germination, to ensure some seeds will germinate into a variety of conditions. So do be patient and do not discard the punnet.

If the seeds are shy to germinate – then wrap the moist, sown punnet in cling-wrap, and place in the fridge (not freezer) for 4-6 weeks.
This mimics a nice cold winter, and promotes germination when they are brought out to the cool place again.

When the seedlings have developed a set of true leaves, pot on into small pots and protect from hot sun to grow on.

Then plant out in a shaded, moist humus rich slightly acid soil.
It is natural for some Meconopsis plants to be herbaceous and die down to a large resting bud.

Seed Count: 25 seeds per pack approx.
(We always aim to exceed the stated seed count, and give a generous serve).

Click here for Nursery Open Days & Open Gardens Information
https://www.gardivalia.com.au/open-gardens

Click here to go back to Seeds Shop
https://www.seedscape.net.au/shop/