Well, with expensive seeds, indoor sowing will help ensure against loses, depending on one's skill level that is! They are easy to germinate, I would always place the seed tray on the cool basement floor and in about three weeks time the little guys would begin popping up. Outdoors is great when you have seeds to spare and these can just be scratched into the surface of the soil in the late fall. Those started early indoors will for sure bloom the first year, though self sown will generally also do the same.

the colder the zone.. the shorter the season ... so often we try to extend our season ... by getting a month or two of growth indoors ... the hardest part is usually time it all out.. so that you can get the babe outdoors earlier enough that it doesnt bolt indoors.... all the while dealing with late frosts or freezes ....

im not sure that your morning light will come true from seed ... maybe someone else knows ..

ken

Thanks both of you, for your input on my Delphinium seed questions!

I have larkspur, which I guess is a type of delphinium. You can direct-sow it at literally any time of the year and it self-sows quite prolifically if you let it go to seed. It sprouts in the fall, and the seedlings stay green all winter (in my zone 6 garden), then they continue growing in the spring and bloom in early summer, and again in late summer/early fall.

No experience with the fancier delphiniums; it may all be different.

Thanks for sharing your experiences Faith and
djacobz568sewi" Great photo, just gorgeous!

Do you have to stake those?

Amazing they are still going 10 years later, that's exciting to learn!

I had to google the Larkspur and Delphinium question about being same or different.

I found this:

https://www.flower.style/flowers-we-love/larkspur-and-delphinium

AND

I found this:

https://www.americanmeadows.com/perennials/delphinium/delphinium-blue-butterfly

I've planted so many Delphinium seeds and bought a couple plants of Delphinium Blue Butterfly or is it Larkspur ? I'm just hoping something takes root. and gets the flower bed going.

After the input to my question here- I'm feeling more confident that I threw my precious seeds out on the ground LOL!

Thanks everyone for your input.

I'm still open to more discussion.

I am no expert, djacob, but it looks like your delphinium is a Pacific Giant Black Knight. I grew Black Knight from seed many years ago (over 10) and still have them, but want more, more, more ...and have been trying to grow them again ever since., without success ..I can’t remember what I did! From what I can determine, seeds from the Pacific Hybrid Group need to go through a cold, moist, stratification (unlike some other delphimium groups) . The method I am trying right now is to put my seeds in a moist coffee filter, in a baggie, in the fridge for anywhere from 24 hours up to 5 weeks. I read an article (Empress of Dirt) in which she experimented and determined that 30-35 hours in the fridge was a sufficient amount of time to increase the germination rate. Then plant them in seed starting mix and they will germinate at 18C (65F) . Grow them on under lights at cooler temps (15-18C, 60-65F) before hardening off.

I start them indoors because my growing season is rather short (zone 5a Muskoka Ontario).

Gargamel thanks for some great information on your delphinium seeds/experiences. I just threw mine out there and I don't think I had any success with them sprouting. So they are pretty fussy seeds so it seems. I like your coffee filter idea!

Well, I am not sure now about the stratification bit. I tried it both without the stratification and with the stratification (moist coffee filter , in fridge for 60 hours) and so far out of 20 seeds total, 2 have germinated and they were in the batch that I didn’t stratify. I started the seeds on March 18.

Gargamel, I think I'm going the easy/lazy route and buying plants instead of seeds, after all my inquiring and seed scattering...LOL! Going for instant gratification and if the plants add seeds then good! I would love to see photos of your delphiniums if you ever feel like sharing them thanks, Sue.

I am jealous Sue...I can’t find these particular delphiniums anywhere as a plant. If I could find them I would buy them as well . I’ll try and remember to take pics of my existing ones in the summer.