Meconopsis grandis. The real big blue poppy. There are 3 subspecies defined by Grey-Wilson in his new monograph as well as their relationship with other 'Blue Poppies' as it it is widespread across the Himalayas. This will need a genetic analysis. HOWEVER for people who just want nice big perennial blue poppies in their garden there is a simple, reliable and relatively easily obtained solution. There is a lovely hybrid between M. grandis and M. betonicifolia called M. x sheldonii. As a hybrid it was infertile and thus could not be grown from seed only propagated vegetatively. In a garden in the Borders some-one noted what looked like a fertile seed pod on one plant. This gave gave rise to the plant called LINGHOLM. Later I found one in my garden and called it  KINGSBARNS HYBRID. We now know these are both tetraploid with 2 sets of each chromosome and this means at cell division the proceedure is successful and fertile seed is set. Kingsbarns Hybrid is a shorter plant and the flowers can have reddish tones, even in acid soil while Lingholm is normally taller and a good blue. IF YOU WANT TO GROW BIG BLUE POPPIES IN YOUR GARDEN EVEN IN AREA WHERE MECONOPSIS ARE DIFFICULT just grow           LINGHOLM

Seeds of Lingholm are occasionally offered by commerce but the Alpine Garden Society, Scottish Rock Garden Club and the Meconopsis Group all have seeds available annually and produce a list. With certain restrictions, an allocation of seeds can be sent abroad. 

Above Lingholm in Caithness. Below Kingsbarns Hybrid.

1.    Meconopsis gracilipes. This is really a Meconopsis dhwojii without the purple pigment blotches at the base of the spines and it is slightly more delicate than that species. It was not offered in either the ALPINE GARDEN SOCIETY seed list or that of the Scottish Rock Garden Club this year but it is still in cultivation. This is not difficult to grow from from seed but to collect viable seed of scarce species I would hand pollinate. This is an image that was sent to me.

Below is a herbarium specimen I photographed at the Royal Botanic Gardens Herbarium at Edinburgh helped by Alan Elliott

There are many Meconopsis that have evergreen rosettes that gradually enlarge over two to four years and then throw a flowering spike which blooms from the top down. The winter rosettes are possibly the best feature. We shall come to Meconopsis gracilipes later. This is very similar and equally attractive as a rosette but does not have the purple pigment at the base of the spines. Once again you need at least two plants to produce seed and as this will hybridise with other rosette species it needs keeping separate. The hybrids are often sterile so you lose the species. Not difficult but maybe in wet areas a glass pane will keep it safe from crown rot. 

Meconopsis delavayi. This is a really beautiful perennial species. It is not easy but is safely in cultivation and seed is occasionally offered in seed exchanges. I grow this in a small bed which gets little direct sun light. Both these images have been given to me. The top is a garden plant and the bottom an image from the wild. It is deciduous but has deep strong tap roots and these have been used successfully to produce new plants from root cuttings. In theory this plant comes from limestone areas but I do not think soil pH either side of  neutral is significant.

This is going to be slightly contraversial. There are two very similar species. Meconopsis baileyii and M. betonicifolia. Dr Chris Grey-Wilson, who has written the latest monograph on the Genus Meconopsis  recognises these as two separate species based, as I remember, on nine distinct characteristics. There are also sub species, one of which - M. baileyii ssp. pratensis - is very distinct and breeds true. M. baileyii occurs in S.E. Tibet and across to NE India. M. betonicifolia occurs in S.W. China - down in NW Yunnan. My theory, and I doubt anyone has taken any notice of of it (!), is that we know both these species were very valuable for obtaining oil for cooking and other purposes. The site in NW Yunnan where it now grows was on the trade route out of the Himalayas into China and I do seriously wonder if it was not introduced there and cultivated as a farm crop some thousands of years ago. Having got that off my chest we can return to cultivation problems!

               Plants grown from recently collected seed from the defined areas can be grown under the correct names. For us gardeners they are very difficult to tell apart and many of the characteristics do have overlap or need a taxonomists eye. They are not difficult and seed which is readily available from some commercial sources but also plentifully  from all three seeds exchanges mentioned above. If you really do want to grow the two species and make your own comparisons then you must be certain of your seed sources since they can be  very muddled in cultivation. The seed  is sown in the standard way. They germinate well and usually prick on and grow on without trouble. It is better, with a successful germination and lots of plants to put out, to dis-bud a small number and these  will go on and form nice large perennial clumps for further years which can be divided when dormant as they die back to resting buds. As almost always with Meconopsis you need at least two plants to cross pollinate for a seed set. The Yunnan plants are reportedly stoloniferous. This character when they are happy would allow the easy propagation of plants.

Meconopsis aculeata

The first species of a series I will recommend for beginners. This is a Himalayan plant quite well established in cultivation. It is related to the Meconopsis horridula complex. It is characterised by flowers usually of a variation on purple/mauve but there are white forms and these are probably still available in seed exchanges. These plants typically germinate fairly easily from seed and then need growing on in a good rich compost. I tend with all Meconopsis to sow seed in pots and then prick on into a tray and plant out as soon as possible and trying hard not to disturb the roots. Planted in good rich soil the will grow on quickly with a rosette up to about 6 inches at best. They are not fussy about soil  acidity or alkalinity though I suppose it might just affect the colour. In late autumn they become dormant and retreat under ground to a resting bud on a rather long narrow root  - a bit like a carrot. These then re-shoot in early spring and through a flowering spike up to about 1 foot high and flower from top down. Seed pods then form (but you must have more than 1 plant since Meconopsis almost invariably need cross pollination). Seed then can be harvested from the rather prickly seed pods in late November or December once the seed pods have slit open, Store dry and cool and resow the following spring. Photo credits. David and Margaret Thorne 

             

   NOTES FOR PEOPLE STARTING ON MECONOPSIS
I intend over the next two months to do a weekly note on species ( 1 per week) that are relatively easy in most parts of the United Kingdom. Most Meconopsis grow well in the wetter parts of the U.K. but even here in East Fife within sight and sound of the sea I have no particular difficulties except keeping a degree of humidity in very hot dry summer spells and even then I simply use a sprinkler to damp the surface  morning and evening for a few minutes. The soil here is sandy and alkaline but over many years I have top dressed( NOT dug) in compost made by collecting up leaves (only) and letting them rot. At a year old this is sieved and applied to the surface for about 8 cms. deep and will be weed free. Earth worms of course will stir this into the soil. Like this self sown seedlings, especially of orchids can develop and flower.         

 There are professional suppliers of seed of  some species of Meconopsis BUT by far the best source are the seed exchanges of the Scottish Rock Garden Club, the Alpine Garden Society and the Edinburgh based Meconopsis Group. They all run seed exchanges and species of Meconopsis difficult or impossible to obtain from professional sources are regularly offered.
         Finally there are three basic categories of Meconopsis. 1. Monocarpic evergreen (lovely rosettes over winter) take several years to flower usually with a very tall flowering spike with hundreds of flowers - colours from white through pinks and red to  shades of blue. 2. Monocarpic deciduous. Go to a dormant bud in winter and then re -emerge in late spring - may take several years to reach flowering size and then die. M. aculeata is one of these. 3. Polycarpic plants that usually go through  winter  with a reduced rosette or even no winter leaf but if happy flower every year. Some like the wonderful red Meconopsis punicea do usually not survive flowering but can occasionally and there may be some strains that do. FINALLY Meconopsis almost always need cross pollinating with a second plant so multiple plantings are essential for the long term collection of seed. The only exception I know is M. superba which has set seed for me from a single plant but cross pollination  would be best. In FUTURE I will try to be brief with each species!!
The first species is Meconopsis aculeata.