Larkspur (lat. Delphinium) is a beautiful flowering perennial that can be found in many gardens with its mostly blue, violet or white flowers. If you cut back the faded shoots in summer, the plant will sprout again and bloom a second time in autumn.
When the delphinium has faded, it makes sense to cut off the flowers
Cut back delphiniums after summer flowering
Most delphiniums bloom between June and July, although some varieties - this also depends on the location - show their flowers earlier or longer. But no matter when and for how long: as soon as the panicles of the summer flowers have faded, cut them off to just above the leaves. As a rule, with many delphiniums this is between 20 and 30 centimeters above the ground. Never cut deeper, because then the plant will find it difficult to sprout again. With this cut you ensure that the radiant colors of the delphinium shine again between September and November.
Leave faded leaves on the plant for seed formation
However, you should not carry out this cut if you want to collect the ripe follicles with the seeds in autumn. After the autumn bloom, there is usually neither time nor energy for the plant to form seeds. Incidentally, you must now protect the delphinium that has been cut down from being eaten by snails, for example by means of appropriate mulching, slug pellets, (7.49€) snail traps or daily collection.
Prune delphinium after autumn blooms
That's why you can safely cut the delphinium back to just above the ground after the autumn bloom. Delphinium will sprout again in the spring. Further preparation measures for the winter are basically not necessary, except that you can mulch the perennial vigorously with compost and / or horn shavings (€32.93) after pruning. A possible division should only be carried out after the pruning - at a distance of several days.
tips and tricks
The ideal day for pruning is a mild one, with an overcast sky whenever possible. An old gardener's wisdom says that plants can be transplanted and trimmed most easily on gray or even rainy days.