Orange poppy

Focal flower · Papaveraceae

Poppy

Papaver nudicaule

Also known as Iceland poppy

Silky, crinkled petals associated with remembrance, dreams, and peace.

Colour: Orange

Often read as cheer and imagination.

Use in a bouquet All flowers
Peak season
Mar–Jun
Vase life
3–6 days
Birth month
August
Colours
5

What the poppy means

The red poppy became an emblem of remembrance after the First World War, when poppies bloomed across the churned battlefields of Flanders and John McCrae wrote "In Flanders Fields." It is still worn in the UK, Canada, and elsewhere around Remembrance Day, and in the US around Memorial Day. Older associations tie poppies to sleep and dreams, since opium comes from one species, and classical myth linked them to Hypnos and Demeter. Iceland poppies, the most common cut poppy, come in softer sunset colors and are given more for cheer.

Flower meanings come mostly from Victorian floriography, and they vary between books, eras, and cultures.

Often sent for

  • Sympathy
  • Just because
  • Birthday
  • Get well

By colour

  • Orange Often read as cheer and imagination.
  • Coral Associated with warmth and comfort.
  • Yellow Often given for optimism and good cheer.
  • White Associated with peace; white poppies are worn as a peace symbol in the UK.
  • Pink Often given for affection and imagination.

Keeping it fresh

Late winter to spring from growers; garden poppies bloom late spring into early summer.

  1. 1 Seal each stem end right after cutting by dipping it in boiling water for about 10 seconds or searing it with a flame.
  2. 2 If you recut a stem later, seal the new end again.
  3. 3 Buy in bud as the hairy casings begin to split; the flowers shrug off their husks and open in the vase.
  4. 4 Keep cool and out of direct sun; the tissue-thin petals drop quickly in heat.

Pet safety

  • cats Not listed
  • dogs Not listed
  • horses Not listed

Not listed in the ASPCA plant database. If a pet eats any, call your vet or ASPCA Animal Poison Control at (888) 426-4435.

“Not listed” means the ASPCA has no entry for this plant — not that it is safe. Keep it out of reach.

Source: ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plants. If a pet eats any plant, call your vet or ASPCA Animal Poison Control at (888) 426-4435.

Birth flower · August

August's second flower; the gladiolus is usually listed first.

Choose “Birthday” in the studio and pick August — the poppy leads the bouquet.

Did you know

Remembrance poppies are corn poppies, whose seeds can lie dormant in soil for years and sprout when it is disturbed, as it was on WWI battlefields.

Pairs well with

Make your own poppy bouquet

Pick a vase, add a card, and share the link — no delivery van, no wilting.

Open Flower Studio