Larkspur is Delicate and Excellent Long Lasting Cut Flower

If you love delphiniums but don’t have the patience it takes to grow them, these hardy annuals may cheer you up. Their flower spikes look like those of delphiniums, but are shorter and more delicate. Heights vary, but two feet is common. Colors are shades of blue, lavender, pink, purple, salmon and also white. Some are branched and some are upright. 12 inches dwarfs are also available. Plants have attractive fernlike foliage. The bloom period is not as long as it is for some annuals as flowers peter out before summer’s end; but larkspur makes an excellent long lasting cut flower. 

Moreover, if you want to grow Larkspur, then you need to sow seeds directly in the garden as early in spring as you can work the soil or in warm climates, in late summer to produce some growth on plants, which will bloom in early spring. In cold regions you an sow about the time of the first frost and let the seeds lie dormant in winter for early bloom. Seeds started indoors should be sown in peat pots and thinned to one plant for each pot to minimize difficulty of transplanting. Larkspur likes full sun but will take part shaded, and prefers part shade in hot zones. Plants in the garden should be at least a foot apart, in fertile, well drained soil. Keep roots cool with a light mulch, especially in hot climates. Tall plants may need staking. 

Lantana Heads are Clusters of Tiny Flowers in Shades of Red, Pink, Yellow and Orange, Sometimes all in One Cluster

Lantanas are perennials grown as half hardy annuals in most climates, or wintered over indoors. Lantana camera can grow as tall as 10 feet in very warm climates but is usually no more than three feet tall, and dwarf varieties no tall than 18 inches are very popular. Little round flower heads are clusters of tiny flowers in shades of red, pink, yellow and orange, sometimes all in one cluster. Alba is a white variety. Trailing lantana l. sellowiana is less hardy, with trailing stems and flowers that are usually combinations of lavender and yellow. 

Both are excellent container plants but are also grown in gardens, the trailing kind as a ground cover. Lantanas are warm weather plants. Sow seeds indoors in late winter because they take a long time to germinate. In warm climates sow outdoors in the garden, as several gardeners buy plants and then stem cuttings when they need new ones to bring indoors for winter display and for a source of new cuttings for the following season. Plants can also be dug up, cut back to five to six inches, and kept dormant in a frost free basement until early spring with just enough water to keep them alive but not enough to produce new growth. Source: Charismatic Planet

Snakeroot or Bugbane

This woodland plant, native to the eastern United States, is not well known but really a delight to grow. Its flowers tall fuzzy white spikes. The leaves are attractive and fernlike rather like that of astilbe. Cimicifuga racemosa grows five to six feet tall, sometimes even taller and flowers in mid to late summer and flowers in mid to late summer sometimes earlier. C. simplex grows about three feet tall and blooms in fall. Moreover both species like part shade and moist, woodsy soil, but C. Simplex will do well in full sun. Division is not necessary but the stems often need to be stake up to where the flower begins.

Shasta Daisy

Shasta daisy or Chrysanthemum x superbum (C. Maximum) are always white, but can be tier single or double, tall short. They generally bloom for a long time in summer, especially if the flower stems are cut, and are a good white accent. “Alaska” and “Polaris” are among the hardiest tall varieties both the single and “Marconi is a double variety. Little Miss Muffet is a single that grows about a foot tall. Well, though to provide rich moist, well-drained soil. IN hot climates provide light shade. Pinching the stems in early summer will make the tall varieties bushier. Clumps are sometimes short-lived; established ones respond well to division.

Shasta daisy or Chrysanthemum x superbum (C. Maximum) are always white, but can be tier single or double, tall short. 

Yarrow or Milfoil,

Several people are familiar with the wild white yarrow with its flat clusters of flowers, but most garden specimens are yellow, and some are pink or red. All have ferny leaves, sometimes with a grayish cast. They are easy to grow and bloom for a long time in summer. Most hybrids are varieties of Achillea millefolium or A. filipendulina, “Moonshine” is a pale yellow with gray leaves and grows up to two feet. “Coronation Gold” is bright yellow with greener leaves, and grows to three feet. “Fire King” is two feet and pinkish red. “Gold Plate” is among the tallest. A.tomentosa is a very pleasing low variety that forms a mat of whitish leaves and has flowers less than a foot tall. It is nice in the rock garden or at the front of the border. Yarrows are sun loving and drought resistant. Some are rather spread and need to be divided frequently. All in fact benefit by division every few years in fall or early spring.

Veronica Speedwell

Veronicas are normally blue but sometime lavender, pink or white. The flowers are spiky and range in height from four feet to a few inches. Bloom period varies from early to late summer Veronica spicata “Blue Peter” grows up to two feet and bloom in mid-summer. Icicle is white and a long bloomer, “Red Fox” is medium height and fairly early. V. prostrata heavenly blue is low and mat forming and early blooming. V. incana is same but has a striking white leaf as well as blue flowers. Moreover these plants like sun but will take some shade. They need adequate moisture but good drainage as well. The soil should be moderately fertile. They are easily divided in spring or fall. Cutting back spent blooms may encourage red bloom.