Macleaya microcarpa Spetchley Ruby

Macleaya microcarpa Spetchley Ruby is a very pretty variety of Plume Poppy, a lush rhizomatous perennial with a nostalgic charm that was very popular in the 1900s. It offers airy flowers in shades of purple-pink and apricot pink and red young shoots in spring. Somewhat forgotten since then, this grand romantic, sometimes called 'Plume Poppy', deserves a place in a large natural garden. Adorned with its beautiful summer mane, it gives a taste of autumn to the garden. A superb plant in the back of a border!

Macleaya microcarpa is a woody-based herbaceous perennial plant native to China, in the Papaveraceae family. This unlikely relative of poppies forms an imposing, upright clump, easily surpassing 1 m (3ft) in height and width for the foliage, and often reaching 2 m (7ft) in height when in flower in our climate. The plant spreads rapidly thanks to its trailing roots, which makes it suitable for large spaces. Flowering takes place in summer, in June-July, in the form of large feathery panicle inflorescences that persist for a long time on the plant. The flowers are tiny but numerous and composed of two sepals forming a pink-apricot calyx. They emerge from dark pink buds. The stems of this Macleaya, are covered with a whitish bloom, and contain yellow latex. In spring, its young shoots are purple, then orange. They unfold into large alternate leaves resembling those of heucheras or annual poppies, divided into 5 to 7 rounded lobes. The lamina is grey-green to olive green, with a velvety silver-almond green underside. The plant easily self-sows in moist soil, but new plants may differ to the mother plant. Macleaya is deciduous, its above-ground vegetation dies and dries up in winter to re-emerge from the ground in spring.

Macleaya microcarpa 'Spetchley Ruby' is undeniably a beautiful, majestic, hardy, sculptural, unusual, and captivating plant, with a truly different appearance. This particular variety stands out but should be avoided in a small garden. It will inevitably charm with its presence in wild areas, with its large plumes of sunset hues, all summer. It can be associated with willowherbs and ferns in moist soil. It also pairs well with rodgersias, gunneras, giant hogweed or angelicas, with which it quickly and spectacularly fills a somewhat neglected corner. Note that its inflorescences are beautiful in fresh or dried bouquets, and its tall stems do not need staking.

There has long been confusion between the two species that make up this genus, with Macleaya microcarpa often being sold under the name of M. cordata. The difference between the two mainly lies in the presence of 2 large whitish sepals on the flower, 2 cm (1in) fruit capsules, and a larger size in the cordata species, which can reach 5 to 6 meters (16 to 20 feet) in height.