Yes, they are sometimes quick to fade those poppies. Make sure you clip the dead head off so the plant will put it's energy into making more flowers instead of seeds. Unless you're not certain it will make more flowers and you WANT this head to go to seed to save them!!!

Oh ok. I wish they even stayed like a week. I really love the flowers. The texture is very very soft. Ok, I will clip it tomorrow morning.

I thought someone walked by and removed the petals.

Also, this morning, I took some pictures again. Everything was great. In the evening, one of the very healthy nasturtium is dead. I can't believe why it would died that quickly. The other plants beside it are all doing great! It was really weird!

Here she is. She was very very healthy this morning. And suddenly!!!

{{gwi:407852}}

maybe someone stepped on it?

My nastriums have not bloomed yet. I sowed them in the spring though

The poppies I have don't look very nice. I wish they bloomed more because they are pretty.

Karen

Mine seem to be beside themselves this year...they are all over the place (but then I was sowing them in cat-litter containers and sowing every type I could get my hands on-- to the point that I can't really remember what all of them are.

It was kind of a test to see if I could have some kind of poppy blooming all growing season.

Thing is, our cool summer is probably aiding how long they're lasting-- it might not be the same deal every year.
Here's a couple of them: {{gwi:407854}}From 2009-06-30
{{gwi:407856}}From 2009-06-30

Not to be bragging or anything, but poppies keep their flowers for days and it doesn't matter if it's windy and rainy or windy and hot. BTW I don't worry about cutting away the seed pods because they have a ton of new flowers on a daily basis. I've been growing poppies for at least 6 years now and it always the same. They are one of my favorites blooming non-stop into July here.

It probably depends on the variety of poppy, and mine are a nice purple which I want to self seed so I'm leaving all the heads on.

As to nasturtiums, this is probably not your problem, but aphids felled all mine every time I tried to grow them, they hide out on the under side of the leaves. I tried saving them with some powdery pesticide to no avail.

Maybe the one you lost is too close to that drain. The others don't look all that robust, but maybe they are not getting enough sun or too much water.

cutworm maybe??

Thanks Vera about the deadheading info. By the way, I can't believe how color red flowers makes a huge impact. I'm going to plant more next year.

About my dead nasturtium, I'm going to check it later. Looks like I saw 2 new small leaves few days ago.

I'm also looking for other flowering plants that flowers summer until last frost. What do you recommend folks?

So far, I'm happy with safari primrose but not sure if they flower until frost. The first flower that came out is still there and beautiful. It's like plastic. LOL.

I also remember cleome on my friend's house, it was already cold but the flowers were still gorgeous. I think, most of her flowering plant are gone but the cleomes.

Also have bachelor buttons, zinnia envy, coreopsis but don't know anything yet about them.

Agree on the Safari Primrose, although this is my first year with the 'primrose' ones specifically. Can't wait to see that color. But I've had the Safari mix previously, and I do like the semi-double blooms. Yep, they'll go right through frost for you.

Cosmos. I think I've recommended them to death, but I've got a shorter (30") "Gazebo" percolating in a few containers right now to replace the poopy poppies later on. They'll take that bed right through October here.

My poppies are doing 'ok' despite the constant barrage of rain here.
I think I'll end up pulling them out earlier than usual this year, simply because there are too many, and they are blooming shorter & smaller because of it. I'm going to pull out a lot of the soil in the bed this year, and replace it with some new compost and start over so they aren't as thick next year to make for a taller/better show. But they're still pretty...from far away. Just don't get up close & personal (ick!).

I've had nasturtiums keel on me like that before, but I don't have an answer for you as to why. Perhaps the cutworm diagnosis was right.

Zinnia will be fine til just about frost, too...keep them cut to keep the show going. Coreopsis and Blanketflower are also the last to go around my yard. Keep the coreopsis deadheaded...they'll get all stringy with dead blooms on you and go to seed, but they'll stick around for the duration.

These guys are so pretty, but I'm lucky if I get more than one day of bloom. I deadhead them, though, and they keep up the show for about 3 weeks. I'll leave a couple towards the end so I can share seeds.
{{gwi:407858}}

What is it? It's gorgeous!

Annual Poppies of the Poofy Persuasion.

Can I please have some seeds this fall?

Hi Neil. It's a purple Peony Poppy. I have them in a salmon colour too. Maybe someone stateside can help you out. I haven't done too much in trades to the states (SASBE's don't work..postage wise).
Pop me an email in August if you can't find any on the US seed exchange.

Wendy (p.s. we just got a heavy rain and those poppies in the picture, taken today, are all now drooping, waterlogged, and their stems are snapped..wah!)

Coreopsis. Plant early sunrise for spring blooms, then full moon for late blooms. My Full Moon is just starting. I'll have lots of seeds late in the fall. Those are for the yellows. Try to find rudbekcia hirta seeds. This is the annual and blooms much earlier than most.

Coreopsis mahogany midget is a great dark red. Shasta daisies for mid summer white blooms. And you can never have too many daylilies. Collect seeds from stella d'oro in parking lots and here on Garden Web. They wintersow well and should bloom in 2 years.