Hi, Yes, it looks just like the ones I get in my garden, every summer, I treat them as weeds, but some people grow them as border plants, the secret is not to let them form seed heads, if you do, you have them for ever more, as they have millions of seeds. It is the seed heads that are cut/slashed, to get the sap from them, from which they collect and make the drug opium. Ashizuru.....
Yep, Papaver somniferum (Opium Poppy). A common plant in gardens. Although technically illegal to grow it in the USA, the PNW climate isn't hot enough for opium production (that needs hot climates, like Afghanistan).
Don't worry about it, you were not to know, if you continue to grow them! cut the seed pods off, as soon as they finish flowering, to prevent them seeding around,they are a pretty flower, we get red, pink, white, striped ones,both double and single flowers.
Grow them and let them spread a little. You may get some of the singles and pinky coloured ones next round. I used to gather the seeds and then spread them where I wanted a show. Re the seed pods they are a much looked for item of seed heads by florists. I couple of twigs in a simple container can look really interesting. Liz
Illegal in US since 1969. Strangely, various local nurseries were still selling the started plants last time I noticed, probably last year (haven't looked much at annuals so far this year). Wonder what would happen if they set out pacs of little marijuana plants? Very common reseeding annual in local gardens, if not the most common one surely one of the most common ones. A local motel has had a small patch for years, right on a state highway where cops would have driven by a thousand times. (This year I see only several plants coming on, here and there among the shrubs - last year or another recent summer there was quite a display, very noticeable). Nevertheless, the plant really is illegal here and supposedly there are occasional raids. A big patch that might be a production field is what is said to be what attracts official visits. An elderly neighbor of Norwegian origin use to pull them up and hang them out to dry above where he sat outside in his chair and looked out over his domain.
The Salt Spring Island RCMP office has them all over the garden. ( I know its Salt Spring and we appear to be a bit lax on the rules, but nobody seems to be worried about it) I have yet to see the cops attempt to harvest...lol
hmm michael, sounds like you have had experience..... and Ron - any idea what the limit (of number of plants) is before one attracts official attention? :) before I posted the pics, I visitied my local home improvement store looking for them - trying to identify them, and they didn't have anything like them. boohoo i dont want to kill em ! they are beautiful and they grow so wellllll.
