Papaver rhoeas

‘Dawn Chorus’

DAWN CHORUS

SHIRLEY POPPIES

Papaver rhoeas ‘Dawn Chorus’
DAWN CHORUS SHIRLEY POPPIES

Papaver rhoeas ‘Dawn Chorus’ is a delightful and special form of the old-fashioned, and much loved Shirley Poppies.
It is also sometimes also known as ‘Angels’ Choir’.

Delightful soft pastel colours 

‘Dawn Chorus’ poppies have wonderful soft and pastel shades – including pale pinks, strawberry, vanilla cream, rose pinks, silver, lavenders, slate blues, apricots and peaches. Angelic colours.

Picotee edged Shirley Poppies

Many flowers will also be bicoloured, and have lovely picotee edges trimmed with another colour.
The colour combinations are endless in  ‘Dawn Chorus’.
Double delightful.

Silky petals in double, semi-double and single blooms

Silken petals open to cups of colour and frills.
Individual flowers will vary in form – so some will be double and filled with petals; while others will be semi-double and flash their golden stamens; then others will be singles of pleated silk.

A very high class Shirley Poppy indeed

Papaver rhoeas ‘Dawn Chorus’ is highly sought after by garden designers and florists; as well as gardeners who love exquisite flowers – just so easy to grow.

Exquisite cut flower

Papaver rhoeas ‘Dawn Chorus’ gives stunning cut flowers that shine in a vase or bouquet.
A steady stream of blooms are provided through spring and summer.

For maximum vase life

To give the cut blooms their maximum vase life :~
First harvest the blooms when the buds are just opening.
Then immediately sear the ends of the stems in boiling water for a few seconds.
Flowers are exquisite in bouquets and bridal arrangements, even though they have a relatively short vase life of 5-7 days – but what a few days.

Can’t kill it these Shirley Poppies with an axe

But despite all the trendy good looks – this really is a tough, old fashioned “cant kill it with an axe” sort of a plant.
Though oh so elegant, it still is after all, a very tough, reliable, self-seeding Flanders Poppy.
Plus just as hardy and easy to grow in the garden, and quick to raise from seed, as it’s more common plain red cousins.

Reliably self sows each year

So once you have some garden plants to start with, they will just continue to self-sow each year.

Quick & easy from seed

And it is very quick & easy from seed, both sown indoors in small pots, or scattered directly in the garden.
From sowing the seed to enjoying flowers is only about 9-12 weeks.

Quick & easy to grow in the garden

Grow Papaver rhoeas ‘Dawn Chorus’ plants in Full Sun.
Where they will prove themselves to be very water-wise and drought resistant old friends.

Hardy self-sowing annual

45cm High in silken flowers x 25cm Wide mound of feathery foliage.

The Reverend gentleman who loved poppies

All of the many strains of lovely Shirley Poppies descend from the breeding work done in the 1880’s by Reverend W. Wilks of the Parish of Shirley in Surrey, England.
The Reverend gentleman noticed one different Poppy amongst a whole field of the common red Corn Poppy (now known as the Flanders Poppy).
This little individual had white markings on the red petals, and he loved it.
So from this one different plant he patiently bred and cross bred, to finally achieve a wide range of markings and picotees. The work was then carried on by British artist Sir Cedric Morris who loved colour. And so today we finally have the exquisite range of jewel colours in Shirley Poppies.

SEED SOWING ADVICE: QUICK & EASY

Sow seeds of Papaver rhoeas ‘Dawn Chorus’ at any time in small pots indoors, whenever suitable temperatures can be provided (16-24°C).
OR
Scatter directly in the garden in autumn or spring.

Sowing indoors for quick & early plants: First sow the seed thinly onto the surface of good quality seed raising mix in a series of small pots.
Then press the seeds gently into the surface of the mix.
And only sprinkle very sparingly with sieved mix.

Sowing Tip 1 for Poppies

It is best to sow Poppy seed as a tiny pinch in a series of small pots, and then transplant each pot full of plants into the garden, when ready, without pricking them out.
As Papaver rhoeas plants quickly grow a long tap root and dislike being disturbed after germination.
So by sowing a tiny pinch directly into a small pot, you can transplant your germinated poppies into the garden by the pot full with minimal root disturbance.
And avoid the work of pricking them out too.
Jiffy pots also work extremely well, as you can just plant the whole jiffy pot without disturbing the plants at all

Sowing Tip 2 for Poppies

Poppy seeds are very fine. So pop a pinch or two of fine sieved seed raising mix into the seed bag first, shake well, and then sow the entire contents of the bag.
This will ensure you can sow the seeds thinly and more evenly for better germination.

Now stand the sown pots in a shallow water bath and allow the water to percolate up to the surface of the mix from below.

Germinate in the dark

Seeds of Papaver rhoeas need dark to germinate.
So cover the sown pots with a light sprinkling of vermiculite, or piece of cardboard or black plastic.

Now place the pots in a warm position (Not in any direct sunlight, or on a temperature controlled heat mat if you have one.
But Papaver rhoeas are very forgiving and easy seeds to germinate. So it is not essential to have a heat mat.

Temperatures of 16-24°C are optimum for rapid and thorough germination.

Continue to keep moist and check daily for sprouts, as you need to remove the cover immediately the seeds begin to germinate.
So the small plants do not become stretched and weak.

Quick from seed to flower

The seed germinates in 7-21 days approx.

Seed Count: 500 seeds per pack approx.
(We always aim to exceed the stated seed count, and give a generous serve).

Caution: The seeds of Papaver rhoeas are not the seeds used as culinary poppy seeds (though they look the same). No parts of the plant are suitable for consumption.

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