How to Grow Glaucium Flavum

Glaucium flavum is commonly known as yellow horn poppy, which is named after its horn-like seed pods that reach up to 6 inches long. This poppy is mainly grown for its decorative lobed gray-green leaves, which form a mound 2 to 3 feet tall. Yellow blossoms measure 2 inches wide appearing all summer. In U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 8, this short-lived perennial has a three-year lifespan, producing flowers the same year the seeds are sown. Yellow horn poppies are considered easy-to-grow flowers.

Instructions

- 1
  Plant the poppy seeds in an area with full sun exposure, as this flower does not grow in shady locations. Make sure the soil drains quickly after watering. Plant the seeds directly in the flower bed after all danger of spring frost is past. Glaucium flavum does not like root disturbances, so it does not transplant well.
- 2
  Water the soil around the base of the plants once a week if it does not rain. Let the soil dry between waterings. After the first summer, established plants do not need supplemental watering, even during drought conditions. Glaucium flavum is a very drought-tolerant plant.
- 3
  Pull the weeds from around yellow horn poppy plants by hand. Do not mulch, as mulching keeps the soil too wet and cool for this plant. Do not fertilize, since it causes rampant leggy growth; the plant actually prefers poor rocky soil.
- 4
  Pinch back the dying glaucium flavum flower blossoms to encourage the production of more blooms and prevent the production of seedpods. When the pods ripen and dry, they tend to scatter the seeds all over the yard. In some areas, this aggressive seed producer is considered an undesirable weed.

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