why are you germinating them now...

mine just finished blooming.. and presumably dropping seeds all over the place ...

i expect them to come up next season ...

it seems.. based on what is going on in my yard.. you are out of phase with ma nature ... which is always my easiest clue to success ...

throw some out the door.. mark the spot... and you should have some next spring ...

ken

SP: did you just harvest the seed.. by saving it from falling to the ground ??? if so.. throw them on the ground ...

Yes. I'm in zone 7b.

I sowed my directly in the ground here in late October at the same time that I sowed poppies and planted daffodil, allium and Dutch iris bulbs. The larkspur seeds sprouted and were above ground all winter. I had beautiful larkspur blooms, starting in May. I let some go to seed; pulled some out; deadheaded some (and those are still blooming).

Cameron

Ken, I have been trying to germinate them for about a month. I got them in trade. I was just impatient and hoping they would bloom this yr. Thanks for the info tho. I will just toss them in the garden.
Tammy

According to one of my reference books, they need several weeks of pretty cool temps: i.e., about 50 degrees. I direct sow mine in mid August to early September.

Teresa

Tammy, just to be clear, larkspur is a COOL weather flower. I don't think this means it needs cold stratification, but it does mean it does not typically grow in the heat of summer. As Cameron said, we southerners sow it in the fall for spring bloom, in the hopes that we can enjoy the flowers before our heat moves in and kills the plants. Yes, it grows well into summer up north, but still, it will die in heat. You need to do some research for your area and find out the best time of year to sow. And, as Ken said, once you get a really good stand of it, it will self sow from then on for you.

Thanks for all the input on these. I will sow them out as Teresa suggested, as we are about the same zone. I really hope to get these started. They look so pretty in pictures.
Tammy