Companion Plants to Oriental Poppies

Perennials

• Carefully chosen perennials can fill the empty space left in mid-summer and provide season-long color. Baby’s breath (Gypsophila paniculata) blooms with tiny white and pink flowers in summer and grows to 3 feet tall. Hardy in USDA zones 3 through 8, this sun-loving perennial thrives in well-drained soil, but resents transplanting efforts. Whirling butterflies or white gaura (Gaura lindheimeri ) blooms from summer to fall with white blossoms that age to pink. This 4-foot-tall perennial thrives in full sun to partial shade and well-drained soil and is hardy in zones 5 through 9.

Annuals

• Choose sun-loving annuals that bloom through the growing season in analogus colors, such as red, orange or purple. Red cuphea (Cuphea llavea) blooms in summer with bright red blossoms. This 2-foot-tall annual thrives in sunny, well-drained sites and tolerates heat. Sulpher cosmos (Cosmos sulphureus) also prefer sunny, dry sites. They grow from 8 to 36 inches tall and bloom with bright orange, yellow and red double or single flowers through the summer. For season-long blooms, plant globe amaranth (Gomphrena globosa), a 2-foot-tall annual that blooms with purple, red, white and pink flowers. This drought-tolerant plant grows well in sun to partial shade.

Ground Covers

• Plant ground covers near Oriental poppies to prevent weed growth. Compatible species include wooly yarrow (Achillea tomentosa), a 12-inch-tall evergreen with aromatic, gray-green foliage. Wooly yarrow blooms with bright yellow-gold flowers and is hardy in USDA zones 3 through 8. It tolerates drought and thrives in sun. Dianthus (Dianthus plumarius) forms a mat of grass-like foliage, topped with pink, purple and white flowers in early summer. This fragrant evergreen has gray-green leaves and grows to 18 inches tall. It prefers sun to light shade and well-drained soil and is hardy in zones 3 through 9.

Ornamental Grasses

• Ornamental grasses make appropriate Oriental poppy companions. These low-maintenance plants come in a range of colors and forms and prevent erosion and runoff with their spreading, fibrous roots. The native blue lyme grass (Elymus arenarius) grows in 4-foot-tall clumps of flat, metallic-blue foliage. It is hardy in USDA zones 4 through 10 and tolerates a range of site conditions. Hardy in zones 4 through 9, feather reed grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora) grows from 2 to 4 feet tall and has wiry, glossy foliage. It blooms with feathery, purple inflorescences in early summer is best suited for well-drained, sunny to lightly shaded sites.