Dan Songster contributed this article featuring the Matilija Poppy (Romneya coulteri) as the Plant of the Month for June 2025.

• What: Matilija Poppy-Romneya coulteri
• Type: Perennial (Semi evergreen, herbaceous)
• Light: Sun but can take dappled light and still flower
• Soil: Likes well drained soil, but will accept clay
• Water: Can naturalize; best to lay off the water after its late spring/early summer bloom

Description

Matilija Poppy is certainly one of our favorite flowering natives. They are in bloom now and what a sight! Crepe paper white petals 6 to 8 inches across and a glowing ball of golden stamens in its center–striking to say the least.

The Matilija Poppy is one of the most appreciated natives when in bloom with a slight apricot scent that is almost perfect in its sweetness, and a deeply cut foliage of blue/green/gray color. It has the largest flowers of any plant native to California and was nominated as the state flower in 1890, but lost to another member of its own family, the California Poppy. 

Its dramatic flower-capped stems can easily reach 6, or even 8 feet high by the time it flowers in late spring. Then during the mid- to late-summer it declines and often looks less than presentable. Actually, Matilija Poppies die back nearly to the ground by fall, leaving flower stems with some rusty looking bedraggled leaves hanging.

Care

In late summer or early winter, you can cut the plant back to 3- or 4-inch stalks. The plant looks more presentable and the attractive new growth which arrives with the rains will be new and fresh. And cutting them short gives you a chance to weed between the stalks more easily.

Establishment

I have often heard people moan about not being able to get these plants established in their gardens–it’s true their roots can be fragile during the transplant from their container. I have also often heard screams regarding the quick rate of growth and aggressive behavior in gardens when this plant does take off. It spreads by underground rhizomes and can pop up 5, 10, or 20 feet away from the original plant.

The spreading behavior allows Romneya to survive and re-sprout following wildfires which are common throughout its ranges. I have tried it in a large container and it has worked fairly well for a few years, but the number of flowers is small compared to those planted in the ground.

Management

Root barriers will help control its growth for a while, but eventually it gets loose and the only thing to help rein it in is root pruning with a sharp shovel. Even after such warnings as this, people cannot resist growing this beauty and you can be forgiven if you join the large group of admirers that succumb to its charms. 

Obviously, such a riotous plant cannot just be placed anywhere in a garden. Give it lots of space along dry edges of the garden or use it on slopes. As you can imagine, it’s a great stabilizer of soils. Don’t plant small natives around it, since they will just be gobbled up. Instead plant large shrubs that can compete with it for space and sun like large Ceanothus, Sugarbush, large Coffeeberry, Lemonadeberry, or Fremontodendron.

Unless you really dislike your neighbor, you should probably avoid planting it along your fence line since it will end up growing under and into their yard. Have a block wall to plant near? That should restrain it (at least for a while).

Cut Flowers

While the tall stems can be cut and used in flowers arrangements, the flowers are relatively short lived in a vase. I agree with Randy Baldwin (of San Marcos Growers) “…best cut in the bud stage and allowed to open, but don’t expect more than a couple days before yellow pollen and petals begin to drop. Some say that searing the cut stem with a flame can prolong the vase life.” 

Common Name

Regarding its common name, the San Marcos website points says:

The common name Matilija Poppy comes from an area in Ventura County, Matilija Canyon, where this plant is abundant and was named for Chief Matilija of the Chumash Indian Tribe.

Evidently the Chumash Indians used the sap of this plant to make a drink and for medicinal purposes.

The flower does resemble something people have for breakfast but let’s not call it the fried-egg plant. After all, as author Mary Elizabeth of the 1897 “Wildflowers of California” wrote, “The Matilija Poppy must be conceded the queen of all flowers…” as royalty it deserves some dignity. 

Propagation

We have all heard the stories of burning pine needles and such over the Romneya seeds to allow them to germinate. Today there are other smoke type treatments but root cuttings is another method with perhaps quicker results.

The International Dendrology Society says,

R. coulteri is not easily raised from cuttings, but its thick fleshy roots afford a ready means of increase. They should be taken in late February, placed in pots or boxes and thinly covered with sandy soil. Mild bottom-heat is desirable. Suckers with roots attached can also be used but should be established in pots before planting out.

The infamous Robert Kurner is more precise in stating why they are difficult to get started, “… any newly produced roots are extremely delicate, easily disrupted, and prone to severing, sending the plant into shock each time it’s repotted. So, if you need fifty, stick two hundred cuttings.” 

Hybrid Selection

A naturally occurring hybrid of Romneya coulteri and R. trichocalyx named ‘White Cloud’ is also very nice and can sometimes be found. Although it looks very much like the normal Matilija Poppy, its growth is a bit more restrained, and dense. To me, the flowers are very similar in size.

The folks at Moosa Creek Nursery say, “We find this selection to stay a little more compact, have profuse, delicately scented flowers and a slightly longer flowering season.”

In the UK, despite its running habit (which the British call “suckering”) both the straight species and the hybrid cultivar ‘White Cloud’, have gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.   

Note for the Very Few: If you can find it AND are really nuts about all things Romneya, read about the life of Thomas Coulter and his discovery of this species in an article by Dr. Nelson in The Garden (Journal R.H.S.), Vol. 107, pp. 454–6 (1982). 

Have you planted Matilija Poppies in your garden? Write back and share your experience with this striking plant.