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Foliage, close-up

At full height and blooming

Flowers are a gold-yellow

G. flavum rosette in spring

Its unusual, gray-green, deeply lobed foliage is one of G. flavum's best attributes

Papaveraceae

Grown primarily for its foliage, Yellow Horned Poppy is native to the British Isles, the Mediterranean and North Africa. It can be found growing wild near the sea and on shingle beaches above the high tide mark of the Mediterranean to southern Scandinavia. It has been grown in America as early as the 17th century; Thomas Jefferson planted it at Monticello in 1807. It grows 2-3 feet tall with deeply lobed gray-green leaves and 2-inch wide gold flowers that bloom from early summer through July. It gets its name from its long and narrow hornlike seed pods, which are popular for use in dried flower arrangements. G. flavum performs best in well-drained soil in Zones 4-8 and grows well in the Northeast, on the West Coast, and wherever there is low rainfall. In some areas, it is a short-lived perennial and instead is treated as a biennial. Like many in the poppy family, G. flavum does not transplant well. Sow seeds directly in flower beds after all danger of frost is past or transplant seedlings when still very small.

Plant Type: perennial

Plant Form or Habit: rounded/mounded

Plant Use: In groups, as a large and unruly but intriguing specimen plant

Propagation:

seed

Flower Color:

yellow

Bloom Period:

mid-summer
late summer

Width: Minimum: 24 inches     Maximum: 36 inches

Foliage Texture: coarse

USDA Hardiness Zone: 5

Water Requirements: average low

Additional Comments: Roots are poisonous and the plant has yellow sap, which is harch and once was used to eat away warts. The plant contains no opiates, but does contain glaucine, which lowers blood pressure and relieves coughs. The seeds yield an oil that has been used in lanterns and in soap. The genus name comes from the Greek work "glaukos," which means gray-green.