I do love Poppies. I bought some seed packets of Poppies this Spring (Iceland, Flanders, etc) and strewn them about, and the other day I went out to the garden to see the most lovely Orange-apricot Poppy in bloom, but these of course are considered Annuals. Are there any Perennial Poppies out there,
other than Oriental Poppies, which I've never grown at all. ?

Papaver cambricum is perennial..
Welsh Poppy (Papaver cambricum)

Others are Papaver atlanticum..
Atlantic Poppy (Papaver atlanticum 'Flore Pleno')
Papaver alpinum
Alpine Poppy (Papaver alpinum)

I think the Alpine Poppy is what I have growing, and blooming in my garden now. I do want the typical
Red Poppy, or Flanders Poppy, but I do not think they are Perennials. I think they are Annuals.

Some strains of Iceland poppy will came back for a few years-most are biennials.

The meconopsis ---blue poppies are tricky to grow , but some are perennial, and some are monocarpic. (They die after blooming.) They are not reliable bloomers.

I really want the "Red Poppies" of Flanders Field !

Papaver rhoeas is an annual which will reseed itself.
I think the Flanders Field ones are a strain of them.

Yes, unfortunately for you Patrick the 'Flander's Field Poppy' which is the popular name for the species Papaver rhoeas is an annual, but does reseed itself like Caroline said..

If you do decide to grow the orientale poppies-you need to know they go dormant somewhat early-and then re appear in the fall.

Papaver rhoeas are easy to grow----they are usually sown in the spring. There are double forms of it which are better sown after your last frost.

I have found with my California poppies, which reseed exceptionally well in my climate, will have a second, but smaller flush, if I harvest the seed pods from the first flush.

My theory was that plants have a need to continue the species. I have found the same thing happening with a few other annuals, but not all.

Patrick, the poppies of Flanders Field are indeed the red Papaver rhoeas, an annual. With a little encouragement they will reseed every year and become a perennial presence in the garden. For my climate the only reliable perennial poppies I've found are Oriental types, but there are some great true red varieties among those. I like growing both because the Orientals bloom when bearded irises are blooming, and P. rhoeas blooms just after, typically through June.

Lyn, I've never tried deadheading P.rhoeas before to extend bloom- I need to try that sometime! I know this works well with lots of plants, just hadn't thought to try it with poppies. Ca. poppies aren't the same genus, but it's certainly worth a try.

Neal:: I planted thousands of Poppy seeds this year, and got very little in return. I was very disappointed. Based on the number of seeds I planted, I was expected "quite a show" but didn't get it.
So I thought I was doing something wrong. But I read where other gardeners literally just throw the seeds into the garden and "Whooooosh" they get a beautiful garden full of Poppies! I don't get it.
There has to be a secret to planting and getting Poppy seeds to grow and bloom !

I've found it's all about timing. When did you sow?

I sowed all seeds in the Spring.....

I've found I have to sow them while its still cold for them to succeed, like March at the latest. Some folks even recommend sowing on top of snow so you can see how thickly you've sown them.

I would have to get my seeds quite early - Like January. Are they available that early ?

Usually I start receiving them in January. A lot are available early for starting early indoors. Some vendors still have them available this year, and poppies are viable for several years. You may find some on clearance sale....

I have Poppies in bloom right now ... but don't know which ones they are. I have a large 'Orange' Poppy in bloom, then much smaller multiple colored Poppies in bloom also. I bought so many different "Types" of Poppy seed packets that I don't know what is currently blooming.

Neal ...

Thanks for the information about the Ca. poppies.

I was guessing that since the plants were creating seed pods in spring, or early summer, they were ending their natural cycle and if I interrupted that cycle as we do when we dead head roses, the plants would naturally attempt to create new seeds.

I haven't tried other kinds of poppies, and may purchase some seeds this year. Right now, I am trying to figure out what bulbs will work and where to put them.

Lyn, you may be on to something- that certainly follows the standard logic. You've extended bloom on Ca. poppies by deadheading, right? It is surely worth a try with Papaver rhoeas and maybe Papaver somniferum too. How on earth does one pronounce the genus of Ca. poppy? California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica)- sounds like a cat sneeze when I try to say it! LOL