I'm not sure about the purple but mine used to turn yellow when they got too wet or they got too hot. They prefer cool weather and usually fade away by July. To get bigger plants it's best to plant them in the fall (scrape away any mulch, they like full sun during the winter. Plant in poor soil and never water them).

Great. The place I ordered them from said they bloom April through August. I have had a lot of issues with them, though. If they are going to be done by July, I am going to dig them up now and replace. I think I know what I want there, anyway. :) Lesson learned! Oh, and I do water a few times a week, so that may be part of it.

The foliage does get a light purple as they go to seed. As you might expect they naturalize in CA. The seed pods explode the seeds all over in July (June?). I tried to grow them one year here and they didn't come back on their own.

In CA, it doesn't rain from mid April to September, so the not watering sounds reasonable. The foliage is scraggly but if you have a field of them, they (including the piles of foliage) are impressive. I assume that they don't appreciate the freezing back here either. Or maybe its the humidity or...

Did you buy plants rather than sow from seeds? California poppies don't like to be moved around as plants. I've done it, but I've taken a huge mound of soil with them to move them in the garden. They get transplant shock quite easily and the lower foliage will turn yellow.

Are you sure you're growing California poppies (Eschscholzia californica)?

I grow them quite well from seeds sown in the previous year. My plants winter over and have been blooming for two months. A few are just now starting to set seeds (that I allow to self-sow).

Cameron

Here is a link that might be useful: One example of my California poppies

My California Poppies are almost spent. They have been blooming for about a month now. They will set seed and I'll let them scatter for next years bloom. I love having them in my bulb bed because it hides some of the Daffodils leaves, as they die.