Common Poppy

Pests & beneficial insects

🐛 Prone to: Aphids

Aphids

Aphididae

Curled leaves, sticky honeydew and ants on patrol — usually with something already eating them.

.

Attract Hoverflies

Hoverflies

Syrphidae

The adults only drink nectar. It is the larvae that eat the aphids.

, Lacewings

Lacewings

Chrysopidae

Golden-eyed adults that mostly drink; larvae that hunt like small alligators.

, Ladybugs

Ladybugs

Coccinellidae

The one predator here where the adults hunt as hard as the larvae do.

, Parasitic wasps

Parasitic wasps

Braconidae, Ichneumonidae and relatives

Pinhead-sized, stingless, and lethal to aphids and caterpillars from the inside.

to keep them in check — plant BuglossGood, InulaGood and LungwortGood nearby.

Growing from seed

Direct-sow Common Poppy outdoors about 2 weeks before your last frost, keeping seeds in cooler soil (around 10–18 °C). Seeds usually come up in around 14 days. Grow in full sun, spaced about 20 cm apart. Expect the first blooms in roughly 60 days.

Common Poppy seed rarely stays viable beyond 3 years — track what's still worth sowing.

Companion Planting

• 
  Allard's Lavender
  

  Allard's LavenderGreat pair

  • ❧Allard's Lavender attracts Hoverflies and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids that attack Common Poppy
  • ❧Common Poppy draws Bees and Bumblebees that improve pollination for both
  • ❧Allard's Lavender roots deep while Common Poppy feeds near the surface — no competition
• 
  Chaytor's Lavender
  

  Chaytor's LavenderGreat pair

  • ❧Chaytor's Lavender attracts Hoverflies and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids that attack Common Poppy
  • ❧Common Poppy draws Bees and Bumblebees that improve pollination for both
  • ❧Chaytor's Lavender roots deep while Common Poppy feeds near the surface — no competition
• 
  Fernleaf Lavender
  

  Fernleaf LavenderGreat pair

  • ❧Fernleaf Lavender attracts Hoverflies and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids that attack Common Poppy
  • ❧Common Poppy draws Bees and Bumblebees that improve pollination for both
  • ❧Fernleaf Lavender roots deep while Common Poppy feeds near the surface — no competition

How to grow Common Poppy

1. Sow-2 weeks from frost
2. Germinates14 days
3. Space20 cm apart
4. GrowFull sun
5. Harvest~60 days

Water: Low · Height: 70 cm · Soil: Well-draining, poor to average — dislikes rich soil