Consolida Species, Giant Larkspur, Rocket Larkspur

I have always loved growing and enjoying the beautiful blooms. Always let it go to seed too.

I sowed seeds for these over 10 years ago and they are still around. I treat them as weeds and pull up the ones that are growing where t...Read Morehey aren't wanted. Another good plant for a dryland area. Bees and butterflys love this plant.

Self-sow with abadon, making a really good show in early summer.
They do better thinned out. I even experimented pinching back so...Read Moreme of the plants before the buds form, making them bushier and blossoming a little later.
They resent the summer heat by looking quite straggly in mid-season. At this point, they can just be pulled out as there are enough seeds in the ground by then to assure next year generation.
The seed are easy to grow. I started mine in flats about 3 weeks before planting outside just because I do not do very well planting anything directly outside.

Wonderful to grow here in zone 5 as an annual, although it often self seeds and you have a few volunteers the following season. I grow i...Read Moret in order to cut and dry for use in dried arrangements. All types will dry, but the big double showy blue, hot pink and lavender flowers provide the most dramatic accents.

Mine generally thrive in full sun, well drained soil. I've had good and bad results when sowing in late april. I generally cover the seeds with remay cloth set about 6"-10" above on stakes. This helps protect the seeds and seedlings should we get a good frost, which sometimes occurs as late as the end of May here. The worst results - 95% die off occurred when we had an extremely wet spring with May rains topping the 6" mark. During an average May with approximately 4" rainfall, no frost after May 10th, and plentiful sunshine, the seedlings thrived, grew rapidly and began to flower in June. Will continue to flower for me here in a good year until frosts in October.