MECONOPSIS LINGHOLM
SORRY, UNAVAILABLE IN 2024. Simply the best blue poppy there is. Meconopsis Lingholm forms a clump of rather hairy elliptical leaves, above which, from late spring into early summer, appear large electric blue flowers held on erect stems. Once seen, never forgotten, as they say. Pot size - available ex 1 litre pot.
Position : best in partial shade.
Soil : moist but well drained neutral or acid soil.
Height : 60 to 90 cm / 24 to 36 in.
Meconopsis Lingholm is a fertile hybrid that comes true from from seed: it was identified nad named at Lingholm Gardens near Keswick in the Lake District as a cross between Meconopsis betonicifolia and Meconopsis grandis. As these species are the Tibetan blue poppy and the Himalayan blue poppy respectively, you get some idea of where they are native to, which essentially is mountain meadows, slopes and woodlands in the Himalayas and western parts of China. The RHS lists this cultivar as Meconopsis (Fertile Blue Group) Lingholm, probably in view of the fact there is an inevitable variability in a seed-produced strain. You can read more about the background of this plant here.
Meconopsis are not the longest lived of perennials, but while they endure, they are so worth it.
They say you need to live in Scotland (cool moist summers, we suppose) to be able to grow meconopsis successfully, but we find that by making sure they are well drained but not dry and giving them a degree of shade from the noonday sun, they do fine, even down here in the most southerly part of England. Ours are grown in the lee of a stand of trees protecting them from much of the day’s direct sun without being in too much shadow: in the height of summer there can be a differerence of quite a few degrees between that site and a more open spot just yards away. And that seems to do the trick.
The video below showcases a Meconopsis LIngholm in bloom, with some nice tinkling water sounds in the background.
Meconopsis Lingholm is a hardy perennial with hairy blue green leaves and electric blue flowers in late spring into summer suitable for partial shade.
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