About
Find Nurseries
Design & Inspiration
California Garden Planner
Bay Area Garden Planner (NEW)
Planting Guide
Butterflies
My Plant Lists
Contact Us
Sign In
Donate
Advanced Search
Contact Us
Sign In
Donate
Home
Advanced Search
Map Locator
View Settings
Nurseries Carrying this Plant
Add Current Plant To List
Edit Current Plant
Show all Photos
About Calscape
Nurseries
California Garden Planner
Bay Area Garden Planner (NEW)
Planting Guide
Butterflies
My Plant Lists
Contact Calscape
Donate
Tap map to see plants native to location
Print Plant Signs
Print Plant Labels
Export To Excel
Export To Excel (Detailed)
Order by Popularity
Order by Common Name
Order by Scientific Name
Order by # of Butterflies Hosted
Show nursery cultivars
Hide nursery cultivars
Show plants not in nurseries
Hide plants not in nurseries
Grid view
Text view
Home
>
All plants
for California
>
Delphinium cardinale
|
Previous
Next
Loading....
Processing the request......
Scarlet Larkspur
( Delphinium cardinale )
Delphinium cardinale
More Photos at CalPhotos
More Info at Jepson eFlora
Calflora
Click on blue squares to see occurrence records.
<< Plant species
Zoom To My Address
Zoom To California
Estimated Plant Range (
?
)
occurrences >>
All Occurrence Records
10 Nurseries Carry This Plant
Add to My Plant List
About Scarlet Larkspur (Delphinium cardinale)
10 Nurseries Carry This Plant
Add to My Plant List
Delphinium cardinale
is a species in the Ranunculaceae (Buttercup) family known by the common names Scarlet Larkspur. This wildflower is found primarily in the southern half of California and Baja California, where it grows on coastal and inland chaparral slopes. This tall larkspur grows on an erect stem which can exceed two meters in height. The basal leaves are divided into many narrow lobes. The top of the thin stem is occupied by many widely spaced flowers, each at the end of a pedicel several centimeters long. Each flower has scarlet red sepals which are generally curled forward into a bowl shape. The petals are also scarlet, except for the top two which are scarlet marked with bright yellow blotches. The flower may be 3 centimeters wide and the same in length, including the spur. This is a very showy plant when in bloom that works well at the back of a bed or among low chaparral shrubs. Due to its height and thin stem it may need support when in bloom. It will die back to the ground in late summer and should be kept dry, reemerging in spring if conditions have been suitable.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Perennial herb
Size
3 - 6.6 ft tall
1 - 2 ft wide
Form
Upright
Dormancy
Summer Deciduous
Flower Color
Red, Yellow
Flowering Season
Spring, Summer
Wildlife Supported
The flowers are major hummingbird attractants
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 4
likely
* )
SHOW ALL
*
Bilobed Looper Moth
Megalographa biloba
Megalographa biloba
*
Spotted Straw Sun Moth
Heliothis phloxiphaga
Heliothis phloxiphaga
*
Verbena Bud Moth
Endothenia hebesana
Endothenia hebesana
*
Celery Leaftier
Udea rubigalis
Udea rubigalis
Landscaping Information
Sun
Full Sun, Part Shade
Moisture
Very Low
Summer Irrigation
Never irrigate once established
Nurseries
Carried by 10
Ease of Care
Moderately Easy
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 10° F
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium
Soil Description
Best in rocky or sandy soil, but will tolerate richer soils. Often found on chert or shale talus slopes. Soil PH: 5.0 - 8.0
Common uses
Hummingbird Gardens, Deer Resistant, Bird Gardens, Bee Gardens
Companion Plants
Works well with virtually any chaparral shrubs or subshrubs as long as they don't smother it; also various annuals, herbaceous perennials, geophytes, small cactus and succulents
Maintenance
Protect from snails and slugs
Propagation
?
For propagating by seed: No treatment; .5 -1 mo. stratification or germination in darkness may improve results.
Sunset Zones
?
7, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23
Natural Setting
Site Type
Relatively warm, dry coastal canyons, foothills and valleys from Montery County southward
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 9.7" - 44.9", Summer Precipitation: 0.17" - 2.33", Coldest Month: 39.6" - 55.7", Hottest Month: 64.5" - 80.7", Humidity: 0.88" - 32.40", Elevation: 40" - 6188"
Print Plant Sign
Print Plant Label
Edit
Back
Print
Back
Print
Scarlet Larkspur
Delphinium cardinale
Sources include:
Wikipedia
. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the
California Consortia of Herbaria
, Sunset information provided by
Jepson Flora Project
. Propogation from seed information provided by the
Santa Barbara Botanical Garden
from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include
CalPhotos
,
Wikimedia Commons
, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include
Calflora
,
CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online
,
Jepson Flora Project
,
Las Pilitas
,
Theodore Payne
,
Tree of Life
,
The Xerces Society
, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from
PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University
, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.
Links:
Jepson eFlora Taxon Page
CalPhotos
Wikipedia
Calflora
Sign in to your Calscape Account
X
Once signed in, you'll be able to access any previously saved plant lists or create new ones.
Email Address
Password
Sign In