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Spiked larkspur

Delphinium stachydeum

Spiked larkspur
Photo: Dean Wm. Taylor, CC BY 2.0

Spiked larkspur is a perennial wildflower native to the Pacific Northwest and Great Basin, growing in sagebrush scrub and forest edges, with tall spikes of bright blue flowers. It is grown in gardens as a hardy, drought-tolerant native for sunny, well-drained sites.

Family
Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Water moderately while establishing, then allow the soil to dry between waterings; it tolerates dry summers.
Soil
Well-drained, gritty or loamy soil; tolerates poor and rocky soil.
Temperature
Hardy to around -25 °C; tolerant of cold winters and hot dry summers.
How easy
Easy
Safety
Toxic: Like other larkspurs (Delphinium), all parts contain toxic alkaloids that can cause serious poisoning if eaten.
Native range
NW. U.S.A. to N. Nevada
Climate
temperate

About

Delphinium stachydeum is a species of larkspur known by the common name spiked larkspur. It is native to the Pacific Northwest and Great Basin of the United States, where it grows in sagebrush scrub and along the edges of mountain forest habitat where it meets prairie and plateau. It is a perennial herb producing at least one erect, slightly hairy stem generally exceeding a meter in height. The multilobed leaves are located mainly on the lower half of the stem except for the area just above ground level. The inflorescence is a branching array of usually more than 30 flowers, each held on a long pedicel. The flower has bright blue sepals around a centimeter long fringed with hairs and surrounding smaller, paler petals. The spur at the back of the flower is just over a centimeter in length.

Other Delphinium plants

Doubtful knight's-spur · Consolida armeniaca · Consolida oliveriana · Royal knight's-spur · Anderson's larkspur · Baker's delphinium · Subalpine larkspur · Little larkspur · Musk Larkspur · California larkspur · Delphinium calthifolium · Scarlet larkspur

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Delphinium stachydeum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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