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Scientific Name:  Papaver somniferum L. Family:  Papaveraceae (Poppy Family) Oriental poppy plants (Papaver orientale) have remained a garden favorite ever since. Once planted, they require no special care and will last for many years. Their original vibrant red-orange color is still the most popular for growing, though oriental poppies come in a variety of colors that will match or blend any garden’s color scheme. How to Care for Oriental Poppies When asked how to care for oriental poppies, the rules are few. Careful placement is essential. Once planted, these beauties don’t like to move. Don’t plant them in soggy ground. They hate wet feet. Do fertilize them, but only once a year. Do plant them with favorites whose growth habits will cover the garden bald spots when your poppies go dormant in the heat. Oriental poppies relish the cool temperatures of early spring and fall. Their bright blossoms open just as most spring bulbs are finished and before the summer f...

Common Names:  needle palm, porcupine palm Family:  Arecacea/Palmae (palm Family) Description The needle palm is a terribly talented plant that is beautiful, rugged, extremely cold hardy, fast growing and one of my landscape favorites. Rhapidophyllum hystrix is a small shrubby fan palm that grows to about 6 ft (1.8 m) in height. It produces suckers freely, these multiple stems creating an ever widening rounded clump of indeterminate width. Over time the tightly packed stems will form an impenetrable thicket. The needle palm doesn’t form a trunk but instead has a slowly lengthening crown that may grow to about 4 ft (1.2 m) long and about 7 in (17.8 cm) in diameter. The stems are composed of old leaf bases, fiber and long slender spines. They are usually erect but in older clumps they may lean or grow prostrate along the ground as they compete for light and space. As each stem matures, more slender spines grow from from between the leaf attachments. These “needles” are dark ...

Common Names:  Majesty (TM) Palm Family:  Arecacea/Palmae (palm Family) Description This is a beautiful feather-leafed palm whose symmetrical form and smooth, flared trunk combine to create living sculpture for the landscape. For the same reason Majesty palm has become a popular plant for indoors as well. Smaller specimens are vigorously marketed as houseplants while larger plants are common inhabitants of office and shopping mall interiors. This palm is such an item of commerce that even its common name, Majesty®, is a trademark. Alan Meerow, author of Guide To Landscape Palms reports that there is confusion as to the identity of Majesty palm. Usually identified as R. rivularis, he suspects that this palm is actually R. glauca, a smaller palm growing to less than 20ft (6m) in height whereas R. rivularis grows to about 40ft (12m). Location Native to Madagascar where it, like much of the island’s unique plant life, is rapidly disappearing. Culture Tolerant of many diffe...