Plant of the Week – February 7, 2019: Reseeding Larkspur

I love this plant. It grew in the old gardens in College Station when I was a young kid riding my bike around town admiring them.

That was decades ago, and this plant is still growing in many of those same old gardens. It reseeds itself freely, yet it doesn’t escape and become a problem all over its side of town. It’s a refined, cheering spring bloomer that belongs in everyone’s early spring garden, and I’ll tell you how best to use it.

Reseeding larkspur (Consolida ambigua);
• Bloom colors include purple, blue, light blue, pink, white;
• Annual that prefers cool, early spring weather;
• Upright, spike-form to 20-36 inches tall;
• Seeds germinate in fall;

• Transplants can be set out in February to bloom in late March, April;
• Use in back of flowerbeds because of its height;
• Good filler for alleys, narrow beds along walks;
• Mixes well with heirloom perennials since it reseeds without your having to disturb their soil;
• Also useful as the “thriller” spike-form flower in patio containers;
• Reseeds freely, so thin small seedlings vigorously to prevent overcrowding.

Share seeds with friends as your crop matures early this summer.