Larkspur

Hi all, I know this forum is supposed to be for more tropical or exotic plants (thats what I heard anyway), but I need some help germinating Larkspur.
Last year I direct sowed a bunch of it and I think one sprouted and then died.
This year I WS'd a bunch of it and so far nothing..........and alot of other stuff has already sprouted. If none of it sprouts what should I do? I know my seed is fresh!

Thanks,
Steven

I'm not sure who told you this forum was for tropical/exotic plants but it's not, it's about seed germination, doesn't matter what the seeds are. Sorry can't help with your question though--I've never grown larkspur but I wanted to reassure you that this was a fine place for your question. The other place you might try is the wintersowing forum, if there are tricks involved with wintersowing that aren't involved with regular seed starting that would be the place to ask.

Thank you for your reply Ecrane3 :) Maybe I'll try over at the WS forum too.

Thanks,
Steven

Steven,

I sowed some Larkspur seeds on March 15th that are just appearing now, as are the delphiniums I sowed around the same time (also fresh seeds). I kept them chilled for 2-3 weeks prior to putting them in soil. This is my first attempt, but I'll keep you posted as the seedlings develop.

Thank-you very much Peckhaus :)
I'll look forward to hearing how they do. If they sprouted well after being prechilled, they should do well with Winter Sowing.....

Steven

I wintersowed mine, but they didn't come up when I thought they should. Then there was a post where some gal had a whole bunch of seeds in a flat with 4" pots. Maybe 10 seeds in each pot? They looked great and she said she plopped each pot-plug in the ground, in sort of a modified HOS, so I sowed some more that very day, inside under lights, and they germinated in 4 days.

They grew and got bigger and I have already planted them outside with bachelor buttons and flax. They are hardy down to 28, becuase that's what we had last night. I'll let you know progressively about 26, 24 and 22 degrees and possibly lower, as the weekend draws to a close.

Suzy

I have had great luck germinating larkspur. I sow in a flat and then prick out. I used a heating cable to get them to germinate. I also tried the perenniel delphiniums and have been fairly successful. Same process. Stokes Seeds catalogs have pretty good pointers on seed culture.

The Larkspur were hardy to 23 degrees. No frost

This was with an indoor sowing, but put outdoors within a few days of germination.

Suzy

Thanks Suzy and Lenjo :)
I guess I'll try some inside, how long were they up before you took them outside Suzy?

It's been a few days since I checked the ones I WS'd, maybe some of them came up!

Steven

SW, I think they germinated in 4 days and I put them out maybe 4 days after that. Certaily less than a week. I just wanted them to sprout because they grow in the cold as long as they have water and SUN.

Suzy

Suzy, how long did you harden them off for?

Sorry for the delay in responding...I just got back from vacation.

On the hardening off, I didn't harden them off at all. My thought was they were only inside for a week or so and at the time, in March, it was 70 degrees outside.

I wouldn't do that with all plants, -- not even most plants. Not even many plants, but Larkspur is hardy.

Suzy

Ok, thanks :) I still havent started it yet except for the ones I WS'd..........I went WAY over board on seeds this year.......