Hairy matilija-poppy

Year-round

Bristly Matilija poppy grows wild in dry canyon washes across coastal Southern California chaparral and coastal sage scrub, in a range that runs from Ventura County south through the Los Angeles basin's canyon country into San Diego County and northern Baja California. It is a large, spreading perennial known for its huge white, crepe paper like flowers with a bright yellow center. In a Los Angeles yard it wants full sun, fast draining soil, and almost no water once it settles in.

• Give it a spot in full sun with sandy or gravelly, fast draining soil. In heavier clay it will survive but bloom less and grow smaller.
• Once established, this plant does not want summer irrigation in most Los Angeles yards. Water weekly through its first summer only, then step back to occasional or no supplemental water.
• It spreads by underground rhizomes and can cover a wide area over a few years, so give it its own bed away from smaller companion plants.
• Its large white flowers draw native bees, including the ligated furrow bee and Texas leafcutter bee, and it is a documented host plant for one native moth.

Because it spreads and can reach several feet tall and wide, plant it in a dedicated bed set back from the front walkway or property line rather than a tight foundation strip, so it reads as an intentional planting rather than something that got away.

Fall

Fall, once the first rains arrive, is the best time to plant Matilija poppy in Los Angeles. It also marks the window when its rhizomes can be divided or transplanted with the best chance of success.

• Plant new Matilija poppy in fall so roots can establish over Los Angeles's mild, wet winter before next summer's heat and drought arrive.
• This is the best window to divide or move rhizomes if you want to start new plants elsewhere in the yard. Disturbing the roots outside this window often kills the plant.
• If the plant went summer deciduous and dropped leaves, do not assume it died. Fresh growth typically returns with the season.
• Cut old woody top growth back to about 6 inches if it looks tired or overgrown before new growth resumes.

Winter

Winter is Los Angeles's rainy season, and Matilija poppy is well adapted to it. Established plants need little from you this time of year beyond staying out of the way of the rhizomes.

• Let winter rain do the watering. Established plants in Los Angeles almost never need supplemental irrigation once the rains start.
• If you did not get to it in fall, an old, woody clump can still be cut back to about 6 inches in early winter to rejuvenate it before spring growth.
• New rhizome growth may show up several feet from the original planting. Decide early whether to let it spread or dig out unwanted shoots while they are small.
• Avoid walking on or disturbing the root zone. The rhizomes are easily damaged and slow to recover.

Spring

Spring is when Matilija poppy starts its main show in Los Angeles, with the first of its huge white flowers typically opening by late spring.

• Expect flower buds to form as days lengthen, with the big white, crepe paper blooms usually opening from late spring into summer.
• Keep watering minimal even as new growth appears. Overwatering an established plant in spring is more likely to cause problems than underwatering.
• Watch for new rhizome shoots coming up around the original clump. This is normal spreading, not a sign of stress.
• Cut flowers hold up well in a vase mixed with sages or other native blooms if you want to bring some indoors.

Summer

Summer brings the last of the bloom and, in many years, the point where Matilija poppy goes summer deciduous in Los Angeles's dry heat. That dieback is part of its normal cycle, not a problem.

• Do not add supplemental water to an established plant. This species is adapted to little to no summer irrigation in Southern California's dry season, and extra water invites root problems.
• If leaves yellow and drop by mid to late summer, that is the plant's natural summer deciduous habit responding to heat and drought, not a sign it needs more water.
• Deadhead spent flowers if you want a tidier look, though seed left in place will not usually produce many seedlings since this species spreads mainly by rhizomes.
• Keep an eye on how far the rhizomes have traveled. Summer's slower growth is a good time to plan where you will want to contain or divide the clump in fall.

If the plant drops leaves and looks bare by late summer, a light tidy up of dead stems keeps the bed looking deliberate until fall regrowth starts.