Description
Consolida – Larkspur –
There are about 40 species of erect. Slender stemmed annuals, closely related to and sometimes included in the genus Delphinium, in this genus. They occur in fallow fields and on stony slopes and steppes in Southeastern Europe and from the Western Mediterranean region to Western and Central Asia. The feathery, softly downy, mid to dark green, usually rounded leaves are deeply pinnatisect, or palmate with numerous slender leaflets. Spurred, delphinium like, pink, blue, or white flowers are carried in racemes or panicles in summer. The taller cultivars provide long lasting cut flowers, which may also be dried. All are excellent for a cottage garden or annual border. Larkspur seed are poisonous.
Grow in light, fertile, well drained soil in full sun. Water freely in dry weather. Provide twiggy support for tall cultivars. Deadhead to prolong flowering.
Prone to powdery mildew, crown rot, slugs and snails.
C. ajacis Giant Imperial Series – C. ambigua Giant Imperial Series – Delphinium consolida – This sparsely to strongly branched annual grows 2-3′ feet tall and 14″ wide. It produces finely dissected, almost fern like, palmate leaves, to 4″ long, with oblong to linear leaflets. In summer, from the bases it bears upright, simple or branching, open to densely packed spikes, to 24″ tall, of spurred, single or rosette like, double flowers, to 1 ½” across, in rich tones or pastel shades of pink, white, or violet blue on long, straight stems. Good for cut flowers.
Zones 7-11
