Lakeshore Garden Centres Plant Finder

Group/Class:  Qis™ Series

Description:

Uniform plants lush with deep green foliage produce tall sturdy spires covered in candy-pink double flowers; blooms from early to mid summer; a great addition to borders, beds; excellent for fresh or dried flower arrangements; attracts pollinators

Ornamental Features

Qis™ Carmine Larkspur features bold spikes of double pink flowers rising above the foliage from early to late summer. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its deeply cut lobed leaves remain dark green in colour throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Qis™ Carmine Larkspur is an herbaceous annual with a rigidly upright and towering form. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other garden plants with less refined foliage.

This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and should be cut back in late fall in preparation for winter. It is a good choice for attracting bees, butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Insects
• Disease

Qis™ Carmine Larkspur is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Vertical Accent
• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Qis™ Carmine Larkspur will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity extending to 4 feet tall with the flowers, with a spread of 20 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 12 inches apart. It tends to be leggy, with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and should be underplanted with lower-growing perennials. The flower stalks can be weak and so it may require staking in exposed sites or excessively rich soils. This annual will normally live for one full growing season, needing replacement the following year.

This plant should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. This plant should not require much in the way of fertilizing once established, although it may appreciate a shot of general-purpose fertilizer from time to time early in the growing season. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Qis™ Carmine Larkspur is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.