Stamp out snow poppy
Snow poppy escaping from a garden
Snow poppy is an attractive low-growing, evergreen perennial native to eastern China. It produces fleshy, 30-60 cm high stems topped with heart to kidneyshaped, leathery leaves. Stems secrete orange sap when crushed. Tall stems of pure white, four-petalled flowers with a central cluster of bright golden stamens appear in spring and summer. It is widely planted in gardens in warm to temperate parts of the country as a groundcover under trees and in shaded areas.
Snow poppy is a recent garden escapee. It thrives in shaded sites with well-drained soil, where it forms a dense network of difficult to control underground rhizomes. Plant fragments of both stems and roots spread through garden dumping. These take root easily in native bush areas where they smother small native plants under a dense canopy of foliage and inhibit germination of seedlings.
The best way to remove it from your garden is to dig out all plants, ensuring all pieces of both stem and root are removed. Dig over the soil and put it through a sieve to collect stray fragments of stem and root. Dispose of plant material at a refuse transfer station.