Butter Bush California Poppy is a compact, sun-loving annual that brings golden-orange blooms to gardens from spring through fall. This heirloom cultivar grows just 8 to 12 inches tall with a tidy 6-inch spread, making it excellent for borders, containers, and small spaces. Flowering arrives in 56 to 70 days from seed, and once established, this poppy thrives on minimal water and neglect, asking only for full sun and well-draining soil. Deer leave it alone, pollinators adore it, and it handles drought with grace once roots are established.
8
Full Sun
Low
6-10
12in H x 6in W
—
High
Hover over chart points for details
California poppies have long symbolized resilience and brightness, and this butter-colored selection captures that spirit in miniature form. The compact bush habit sets it apart from sprawling poppy varieties, delivering the same cheerful, papery-petaled blooms in a footprint small enough for containers and tight garden corners. Once you've watered it in, you can largely forget about it; it actually flowers more prolifically during dry spells when stressed, rewarding neglect with abundance rather than punishment.
California poppies are grown primarily for their ornamental value. The delicate, tissue-paper flowers open in bright sunlight and close as evening falls, creating a daily spectacle in gardens and containers. They add cheerful color to mixed borders, cottage gardens, and wildflower meadows, and their low-maintenance nature makes them popular in xeriscaping and drought-tolerant landscape schemes.
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Start seeds indoors in containers 4 weeks before your last spring frost. Keep soil temperatures between 60 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Transplant seedlings outdoors after hardening off once all danger of frost has passed.
Harden off seedlings over 7 to 10 days of increasing outdoor exposure before transplanting. Move to garden after the last spring frost date, spacing plants 8 inches apart in full sun.
Direct sowing outdoors is recommended for best results. Sow seeds in early spring as soon as soil can be worked, or in fall in mild-winter areas (zones 8 to 10). In late winter regions, direct sow in late winter for earliest blooms.
Enter your ZIP code to see a personalized growing calendar for this plant.