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Description

Silky white petals with bold black markings give this hardy Oriental poppy serious early summer drama.

Oriental Poppy 'Checkers' is a striking cottage garden perennial with large, elegant flowers. The crisp white blooms carry distinctive dark blotches at the base of the petals, creating a strong contrast that looks especially effective in sunny borders and traditional planting schemes.

This is a brilliant choice for gardeners who want bold impact without demanding care. Plant it in groups for a stronger display, or use it as a standout feature among hardy perennials, grasses and other early summer flowers. The bristly foliage adds texture before the blooms open, while the sturdy stems hold the flowers proudly above the planting.

After flowering, the attractive seed heads bring extra structure and can be left in place for added interest. Tough, hardy and perennial, 'Checkers' dies back naturally after summer before returning in following seasons once established.

Supplied as an established plant in a 9cm pot, ready to pot on or plant out.

Top Tips

Untidy leaves can be cut back after flowering to stimulate now, fresh foliage.

Care Information

Planting Advice:

Best planted in a well-drained soil in full sun, Oriental Poppies can sprawl, so do appreciate a little support from other plants or stakes.
Well-drained soil is essential and add plenty of humus to poor soils to retain moisture. Remember to allow plenty of room for growth as these poppies may reach a metre or so in height.
Plant in a sheltered site to prevent wind damage to the blooms.
Water your potted plant well.
Dig a hole a little deeper and 3 x wider than the nursery pot.
Add a soil conditioner such as well-rotted manure to the earth removed from the hole if necessary.
Remove the plant from its pot and tease out a few of the roots.
Dig a planting hole and sprinkle mycorrhizal fungi (Root grow) into the base.
Place your plant in the hole at the same level at the pot.
Refill the hole with the earth removed (backfilling).
Firm in the soil with your heel, avoiding the root ball.
Water well and mulch around the base of the plant with a collar, compost, gravel, bark etc.

Aftercare Advice:

Keep newly planted poppies well-watered until established.
Give plants a dressing of fish blood and bone in the autumn.
Provide support before the flowers appear.
Mulch with well-rotted manure or compost in autumn and keep well-watered.

Pruning Advice:

Cut back to ground level after flowering. Lift and divide large clumps in autumn.
If cut back after flowering, they may even produce a second flush.

Delivery Information

Our experienced team at the nursery will always carefully package and send your plants nursery fresh in the perfect condition to thrive once you receive and plant them. Although most plants are extremely tough and will not be affected by all but the most extreme of weather conditions, we always avoid dispatching the most perishable plants if extreme frosts or heat is forecast. We also avoid dispatching orders over Bank Holiday weekends.

Please allow us 3-5 working days to dispatch your order. If you have ordered a 'pre-order' item, these will be sent out as soon as possible after the quoted dispatch date and we generally ship your entire order with any pre-ordered items. Once your order has been dispatched, we will send you an email with details on how you can track it.

We send most of our orders via a fully tracked courier service with Yodel. We will send you a tracking link as soon as your order has been dispatched. To avoid perishable items being stuck at depots and deteriorating, we will not require a signature on delivery, and we ask out couriers to leave your item in a safe place ad your delivery address.

*Please note, once your item has been delivered, we cannot be held responsible for loss or theft from your delivery address. If you have delivery instruction and require our courier to leave your item in a specific place, please let us know - there is an option to leave a message for the courier at the checkout.

For smaller and single-item orders, we may send these via the post with Royal Mail - Tracking will not be available for orders sent via this method.

**Please note, we cannot guarantee delivery on a certain day or time. Delivery to outlying postcode areas may take 1-2 days longer, dependent on your location.

For all orders, a small delivery fee of £4.99 will be charged or spend over £49.99 for FREE Delivery!

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