Summary
Celandine poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum) is an easy-care, herbaceous woodland perennial offering a medium to coarse texture in the garden. Growing 1 to 1 ½’ tall and nearly 1′ wide, plants prefer moist to wet, humusy soils in part to full shade. The green to blue green foliage is 6” long and 4” wide, boldly pinnate, and has a silvery underside. Leaves and stems are toxic and exude a yellow orange sap when crushed, making the plant less browsed by deer and rabbits. Blooming in April and May, the flowers are 1 ¼ to 2 ¼” wide, four-petaled, a vibrant yellow, and are displayed in small clusters atop stems that typically grow 12-18″ tall. Flowers develop into fuzzy seed pods that will nod below the foliage as they mature.
Plants slowly increase by rhizomatous growth, but more readily self-seed, a useful feature in the larger landscape. Foliage tends to yellow my mid-summer so cutting back to tidy and refresh is easily done in the smaller landscape. Combine with yellow trout lily (Erythronium americanum), bent trillium (Trillium flexipes), and dwarf larkspur (Delphinium tricorne), using celandine poppy’s ease in naturalizing to create a mosaic of color and texture in a woodland edge display. Scattered through mass sweeps of Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica), the combination effectively draws the eye through the design. Zones 4-9.
More Details
- Sun/Shade Conditions
partial-shade, shade - Foliage Character
deciduous - Soil Moisture
moist - Flowering Period
early-spring, late-spring - Soil PH
adaptable - Flower Color
yellow - Summer Foliage Color
blue-green - Fall Foliage Color
non-showy - Fruit/Seed Color
blue-green, dark-brown