Primary
Gladiolus
In the Victorian language of flowers it signifies strength of character.
Birth flowers by month
August Birth Flowers
The August birth flowers are the gladiolus and the poppy. The gladiolus is a florist's flower of tall, sword-shaped leaves and stacked blooms; the poppy is a short-lived wild flower of field edges. Their meanings sit far apart: strength of character on one side, remembrance and rest on the other.
- Gladiolus
- Gladiolus iris family
- Poppy
- Papaver toxic to pets
Toxicity: ASPCA list.
August birth flowers at a glance
Secondary
Poppy
In the Victorian language of flowers it signifies remembrance and rest.
Gladioli planted in spring flower from late July through August. Field poppies flower from June, and in many years their last flush runs into August.
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August birth flower
Gladiolus
The plant
Gladiolus, a genus of the iris family grown from corms, with most wild species native to southern Africa. The flowers open one after another from the bottom of the spike to the top.
Why it belongs to August
The name comes from the Latin gladius, a sword, after the shape of the leaves, which is also why it is called the sword lily. In Victorian flower language it signaled that the giver was pierced by love.
Meaning by color
Red for love and passion, white for innocence, yellow for cheerfulness, pink for compassion, purple for grace.
Keeping it
Cut spikes when the lowest two or three flowers have opened; the rest open in the vase. Snapping off faded lower flowers keeps the spike neat.
August birth flower
Poppy
The plant
Papaver, a genus of annuals and perennials. The common field poppy, Papaver rhoeas, has seeds that can lie dormant in soil for years and germinate when the ground is disturbed.
Why it belongs to August
That habit is why poppies flowered across the churned battlefields of Flanders during the First World War, and why John McCrae's 1915 poem made the red poppy the symbol of remembrance. The California poppy, a different genus, is the state flower of California.
Meaning by color
Red for remembrance, white for peace, yellow and orange for success and wealth, purple for imagination.
Keeping it
Poppies resent transplanting and are best sown directly. For a vase, sear the cut stem end briefly in boiling water or a flame to stop it wilting.
Safety
Ornamental poppies contain alkaloids and are considered toxic to pets if eaten.
Giving August birth flowers
Gladioli make the more practical August bouquet. Red poppies are closely tied to remembrance in Britain and the Commonwealth, so check the association before giving them for a celebration.
Toxicity notes follow the ASPCA Animal Poison Control, toxic and non-toxic plants list; if a pet has eaten part of a plant, call a vet or a poison line rather than waiting for symptoms.
Paired with the August birthstone
August pairs these flowers with Peridot — yellow-green, hardness 6.5–7 on the Mohs scale. Why the pairing is a modern habit →
How many people have an August birthday
August accounts for 8.91% of US births, the largest share of any month. On an average day it sees 11,914 births, the second-largest daily count.
August: 11,914 births a day, 85 fewer than September.
Questions
What is the August birth flower?
Gladiolus is the primary flower, with Poppy as the second.
What does the August birth flower mean?
Strength of character, in the Victorian language of flowers; Poppy adds remembrance and rest.
Sources
Statements of fact on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. How we choose and check sources: editorial policy.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “August Birth Flowers: Gladiolus and Poppy Meaning.” Accessed October 27, 2026. https://astrohot.com/birth-flowers/august/
For Wikipedia
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