Consolida ajacis Seeds | Larkspur
LATIN NAME: Consolida ajacis
COMMON NAME: Larkspur
Plant Profile
Larkspur is a hardy annual of southern Europe, standing about a metre tall with finely divided, feathery leaves and dense spikes of spurred flowers in blue, purple, pink or white. Each flower carries a single long spur at the back, the feature that separates it visually from its delphinium cousins.
It has been a cottage-garden flower since at least the sixteenth century, sown in rows for cutting and allowed to self-sow at the back of borders. It likes cool weather, full sun and soil that drains freely, and it flowers within about three months of a spring sowing, earlier still from an autumn sowing in mild districts. In the vase, stems are picked when the lowest third of the spike has opened, and the rest of the buds follow in water.
Science & Biotechnology
Larkspur sits close to Delphinium, and recent treatments have merged Consolida back into that genus on the strength of molecular work; gardeners will find it sold under either name. All parts contain delphinium-type alkaloids, which is why it is a cutting flower and not a kitchen herb.
Its germination responds to cool soil, which is why autumn and early spring sowings outperform late ones in warm districts. The spurred flowers are worked mainly by long-tongued bumblebees, since honeybees cannot easily reach the nectar. The alkaloid content is serious rather than decorative: a handful of foliage can poison cattle, and growers near pasture treat the plant as a boundary crop. In Europe the plant has escaped from gardens into road verges and railway ballast, where its cool-soil germination suits the open, disturbed habitat almost better than the field it left.
Uses & Benefits
In the garden it is grown in rows for cutting, in drifts through a meadow-style border, or wherever its blue is wanted against orange and yellow summer flowers. The spikes last well in water and have been a florist’s standby for a century and a half.
It self-sows politely in light soil, returning each year without becoming a nuisance. Because of its alkaloids it is grown for the vase only, and it should be kept away from paddocks and livestock. Successional sowings a month apart keep cut stems coming from June to September, and the dried spikes hold their colour for winter arrangements.
Growing from Seed
Sow directly where the plants are to flower, since larkspur sends down a taproot and resents being moved. Press the seed half a centimetre into raked soil in autumn or early spring, and firm it in gently.
Thin the seedlings to twenty centimetres apart, keep the ground moist until they are established, and give a sunny, open position in soil that drains well.
For early flowers, autumn-sown rows can be overwintered with a light mulch in mild districts; elsewhere sow as soon as the soil can be worked in spring, and successional sowings a month apart spread the cut over the summer.
Our Take
A fast, hardy cutting annual with spurred spikes in old-fashioned blues and pinks, best sown direct and happy to self-sow thereafter.
Related Reading
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