Our Meconopsis ‘Slieve Donard’ which grow happily in Rowallane’s Walled Garden is a hybrid dating from about 1935 from Meconopsis grandis and Meconopsis betonicifolia. One seedling was named, raised, and sold from the long gone Slieve Donard Nursery, Newcastle, Co. Down.
Where is it easiest to grow them?
Meconopsis come from the Sino-Himalaya, and in their natural environment they grow at high altitudes, where they are covered by snow in the winter and are exposed to monsoon rains in the summer. These conditions make it easier to grow them in the western and northern parts of Britain.
Soil
As with all plants, we grow Meconopsis most successfully when the soil is well dug, loose, friable, nutrient rich, moisture retentive, but not prone to waterlogging. If your soil is heavy and likely to become water-logged in the winter, add plenty of coarse sand or grit, allowing it to drain freely. Conversely, if your soil is on the dry side, it is important that lots of moisture-retentive material, such as garden compost or leaf mould is added. This will help to stop the plants from drying out in the summer, and to keep humidity high.
Site
Meconopsis thrive in dappled shade; The shade can be created by deciduous trees, but it is important that they are not too vigorous or shallow rooted as this can create too much competition for the available water in the soil. Meconopsis also dislike being in very exposed areas, where the wind can damage their brittle stems and leaves.
Propagation
Meconopsis ‘Slieve Donard’ is an infertile blue poppy and can only be propagated vegetatively, i.e., by division. Once our plants are 3-4 years old, we dig up our congested clumps; this results in many young plants and more flowers than if the old clump was left untouched.
We carry out propagation by division: early spring (March), It is important that it is carried out a time when the soil is warm, and the plants are just emerging from dormancy and beginning active growth. The leaf buds will be visibly expanding, but the leaves will not be extended when they could easily be damaged.
First the clumps are lifted with a fork. Once the clump is lifted, it should be then divided by hand as the shoots are very delicate and could easily be killed by being sliced in half by a spade! These clumps can be broken down into lots of pieces with one or two rooted shoots on each piece to produce the maximum number of plants. Even tiny pieces grow, but they may take a couple of years to flower. So, we pot these up. Large pieces are returned to the compost rich soil and will flower in their first season. These offshoots will be lifted again after a few years and the process repeated.