Mmm, I have been 'removing' one of those for 15 years ('Beauty of Livermere', I think). It presented an unbearable clash with a bunch of iris and other forgotten perennials...but I ended up dismantling everything else around it due to the persistence of even the tiniest piece of root. Thankfully, it is all done and dusted in 2 weeks and my gravel garden returns to normal.

Thank you both... I guess the long leaves are the issue they get sooooo long and bushy mid June they take away light from my dianthyses and asters.... so there is no really harm pruning back the base leaves/ or longe leaves?

No harm at all. I find some of the older, larger leaves get a little tatty after bloom time anyway.

I don't just cut a few longer leaves - I shear the entire plant to the base after flowering. The new fresh growth tends to be more upright and does not bully the daintier plants (such as dianthus) in my gravel bed.

I'm so jealous of your poppy problem! My grandmother has one that she has grown for probably 40 yrs but I just can't seem to get them to come back in my garden. I've tried numerous times but with no luck. I actually just bought another at the greenhouse the other day so here's hoping:)

If the salmon one is structurally the same as the orange one then it is Papaver orientale also.

I have one that I love that's a few years old and it's in bloom right now but the big leaves are taking over everything around it. I cut the leaves back to clean up the space and just read somewhere else that doing this while the plant is in bloom is not good. I trust that the plant will survive (I didn't remove ALL the leaves) but is this something that I should not have done? I'm clearing the space for hygiene and to put in some new plants next to it. I know this is an old post but would appreciate any help if you guys see this. I still get comments on an old post about roses from years ago :-)

It's unlikely to hurt the poppy but if you plant other plants in the gaps you'll need to cut the poppies back repeatedly, which probably will weaken them. I'd leave the poppy in peace and put your new plants somewhere else. Poppy leaves are a handsome foil for the flowers and contribute to the enjoyment of the whole plant.