Papaver orientale 'Beauty of Livermere'

Prostrate clumps with stiff single-flower shoots rising above the leaves.

Tufts of leaves 30-40 cm, flower shoots 80-100 cm high.

Wide-open bowl-shaped flowers up to 20 cm wide, very intense colours; conspicuous scarlet with four large black spots at the base, black stamen and black stigma; end of May to June.

Pinnate, grey-green with its silver hairs, completely dying back to underground rhizomes after flowering, new shoots starting from September.

Sun, likes warmth, usually frost hardy.

Moderately dry to fresh, deep and loose, well-drained, nutritious, sandy or gravelly loam; sensitive to winter dampness; often withers on heavy soil.