Coulter's Matilija Poppy, Romneya coulteri

About Coulter's Matilija Poppy (Romneya coulteri) 76 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Romneya coulteri (Coulter's Matilija Poppy) is a flowering plant in the poppy family. This poppy is native to Southern California and Baja California, where it grows in dry canyons in chaparral and coastal sage scrub plant communities, sometimes in areas recently burned. It is a popular ornamental plant, kept for its large, showy flowers. This shrub may exceed 7 feet in height, its woody stem growing from a network of rhizomes.

The gray-green, waxy-textured leaves are each divided into a few lance-shaped lobes. At the center of the flower is a cluster of many yellow stamens. The fruit is a bristly capsule containing many tiny seeds.

This plant bears the largest flowers of any species native to California, rivaled only by Hibiscus lasiocarpos. It was nominated for the honor of California state flower in 1890, but the California poppy won the title in a landslide. A closely-related species, Romneya trichocalyx, has more spiny sepals on the flower buds and overall smaller plant and flowers.

Matilija Poppy is summer deciduous and winter dormant, so patience is required to get it established. Once established, it spreads aggressively and may need to be controlled to prevent undesired expansion. Pulling shoots is usually effective.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Perennial herb

Size

6.6 - 10 ft tall
20 ft wide

Form

Upright Columnar, Weeping

Growth Rate

Moderate

Dormancy

Summer Deciduous

Fragrance

None

Flower Color

White, Yellow

Flowering Season

Spring, Summer

Wildlife Supported

Bees, butterflies
Butterfly host plants

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 1 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Neoterpes edwardsataNeoterpes edwardsata

Landscaping Information

Sun

Full Sun

Moisture

Low

Summer Irrigation

Never irrigate once established

Nurseries

Carried by 76

Ease of Care

Very Easy

Cold Tolerance

Tolerates cold to -6° F

Soil Drainage

Fast, Medium

Soil Description

Prefers sandy or gravelly soil with fast drainage. Soil PH: 5.0 - 8.0

Common uses

Deer Resistant

Companion Plants

Grows well with a wide variety of chaparral plants including Scrub Oaks, Manzanitas, Coyote Brush, Laurel Sumac, Chaparral Mallow, Toyon, and Lemonade Berry

Maintenance

It is advisable to cut down to 6 inches in late Summer or Fall. Dried leaves and stalks make excellent mulch when chopped or broken up

Propagation?

Usually by rhizomes during winter. Disturbing the rhizomes at other times is usually fatal. Propagation by seeds is difficult. For propagating by seed: Fire treatment in late fall and germinate outdoors; or soak in l N potassium hydroxide (KOH) 1/2 hr., then soak in 100 ppm GA3 overnight. Soaking in KOH followed by 3 mos. stratification, then GA3 may improve germination ( Harrington 1975). 3 mos. stratification gives some germination.

Sunset Zones?

4*, 5*, 6, 7*, 8*, 9*, 10, 11, 12, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting

Site Type

Dry washes, canyons and foothills, with chaparral or coastal sage scrub vegetation

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 10.1" - 38.8", Summer Precipitation: 0.21" - 0.94", Coldest Month: 34.3" - 55.2", Hottest Month: 68.4" - 80.6", Humidity: 0.96" - 26.97", Elevation: 52" - 5136"

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

Coulter's Matilija Poppy

Romneya coulteri

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Coulter's Matilija PoppyRomneya coulteri

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Coulter's Matilija Poppy

Romneya coulteri