Early-blooming yellow wood poppy well-suited to native plant gardens

Editor’s note: Once a month, OSU Extension Master Gardener volunteers in Franklin County profile a plant that occurs naturally in central Ohio.

Consider adding the yellow wood poppy to your garden for a splash of bright spring color. Native to an area from western Pennsylvania to Illinois, north to Wisconsin and south to Arkansas, the yellow wood poppy or celandine poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum) thrives on the rich soil found in moist woodlands, along streams and in ravines. It would be at home in a shaded perennial bed, native plant or wildflower garden that receives full sun in early spring before trees leaf out overhead. It would also do well planted at the edge of a pond or in a shady rain garden.

Once established, these native poppies grow in clumps of attractive foliage up to 12 inches across and 18 inches tall. Their lobed, grey-green leaves have a silvery underside covered with fine hairs, and their stems are filled with a yellow sap that was used as a dye by Native Americans. 

Bright 1-to-2-inch golden-yellow poppies with four petal-like sepals bloom in clusters on the ends of 18-inch stems from March through May, bringing welcome color to gardens early in the year. Yellow wood poppies also combine well with other early-blooming, shade-loving plants such as bleeding heart, columbine and foamflower.

Homegrown:Arrowwood viburnum a hardy native shrub with pollinator appeal

If the poppies are deadheaded after their initial bloom, they may bloom intermittently throughout the summer if the plants are kept watered. However, the plants will go dormant if their soil dries out. Flowers that are allowed to remain on the plant will form hairy oval seedpods that will dry and burst open in mid-to-late summer. The seeds are then dispersed by ants, which may result in new plants emerging the following year quite a distance from the original plant. The seeds also serve as a source of food for chipmunks.

Plants are propagated by seed or division in the spring and are long-lived, once established. Their only pest problem is slugs; their foliage is toxic to deer and rabbits, which avoid them. They are perhaps most threatened by garlic mustard, an invasive plant that is crowding out yellow wood poppies in their native habitats.

Growing conditions

Hardiness Zones: 4-8

Sun: part shade to shade

Water: until established; if soil dries out in summer

Soil: rich, well-drained, slightly acidic

Maintenance: water in summer to prevent dormancy

Propagation: by seed or division

Pests and Diseases: slugs