Illustration
Mikado
Eschscholzia californica 'Mikado'
Mikado blooms from May through August.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Mikado
Plant it in full sun. It prefers low water. It is hardy in USDA zones 8–10. Expect it to reach about 12 in tall and 8 in wide at maturity, in roughly 1 year (a house reading).
Is Mikado toxic to dogs or cats?
- Listed as toxic to dogs and cats by University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
What was checked
Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Mikado
Mikado is a cool-season annual: plant it out in early spring as soon as the soil can be worked, a few weeks before the last frost, since it takes light frost and fades in summer heat; in mild-winter zones it also goes in during fall. In zone 9, the middle of its hardy zones 8 to 10, that means January or February. It flowers from May to August.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 9, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 9 in January. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Mikado get?
12 intall5 ft 7 inan adult8 inwideSee Mikado in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Mikado
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Mikado about 8 in apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Mikado to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Mikado's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom color and trait tags were checked against 7 published sources on October 24, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- applewoodseed.comApplewood Seed Co.height, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- silverfallsseed.comSilver Falls Seed Companyheight, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- lakevalleyseed.comLake Valley Seedheight, water and bloom months and color
- fedcoseeds.comFedco Seedsheight and bloom months and color
- NC State Extensionsun, water and trait tags
- gertens.comGertens Garden Centerheight and spread
- Missouri Botanical Gardensun and water
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Where it grows wild
A garden form of California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica)
Its wild parent is native to 8 states.
Its parent's own page: California Poppy.
United States: Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington
Also grows wild, but is not native, in Alaska, Hawaii and Illinois.
Range data from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 4.0, adapted) and USDA PLANTS. How the native range is credited.
Good to know about Mikado
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note.
Safety
Listed as toxic to dogs and cats by University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources: the whole plant, if eaten. Concentrated herbal products can cause mild nausea in people. per University of California ANR and Poison Control
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.