Question
is it too late to direct seed larkspur and annual poppies  in zone5/6 massachusetts garden, right now if not how to?thanks

Answer
Larkspur and Poppies doesn't narrow it down much, Heidi - I'll give you some basic details and you write back if you need better information.

Larkspur (Consolida genus) can take anywhere from 3 1/2 to 4 months to flower from seed. The cut flower trade favors two species: C.orientalis is the taller of the two, growing 3-4 feet with blooms in strong pink and purple along with the famous Larkspur blue; it is the most popular.  Behind it is C.ambigua, which is mainly pale pink and baby blue and more stocky.

Both need a chilling period before they are sown to maximize germination, an effect you can mimic by refrigerating dampened seeds in the vegetable crisper of your refrigerator, then transferring to a pot. Under these conditions you can expect them to sprout 12 to 20 days later.

Once the seeds germinate, thye grow quickly in cool temperatures. They thrive under cool, moist conditions with lots of sun. Professional growers with greenhouses take advantage of this by sowing Larkspur in slightly acidic soil during the autumn; seedlings grow quickly to flowering size in 50 to 55 degrees F for the first 10 weeks and later at 55 to 60 degrees F after this time -- under greenhouse glass to maximize sunlight. So if you want to grow one of these Larkspur, the simple answer is that you are too late for the spring sowing, and too early for the autumn sowing -- but because the bloom cycle is triggered with a day length of 16 hours, you also have to expose them to artificial lights to trigger the blooming hormones.

In your Massachusetts climate, a cooler summer than we get on Long Island may be just what the doctor ordered.  Just understand that you may not see any blooms until late October or later.  If you decide to cut them, do it under water, the way rosarians cut Roses, and protect from ethylene exposure by removing spent buds immediately.  Vase life is about a week in water.

Annual poppies are a different story. They can bloom 55-65 days after germination.

Shirley Poppies, Corn Poppies and Flanders Poppies (Papayer rhoeas) bloom at the end of stems measuring 18 inches to almost 3 feet long. California Poppies (Eschscholzia californica) are slightly shorter.  These are not flowers to cut unless you don't mind the 2-day vase life.  They thrive in egg-frying temperatures with full days of rays.  If you want to grow something in a Massachusetts garden, you can't go wrong with Poppies - but pray for a heat wave.

Seeds of both, as well as basic cultivation and expected maturities of these and other flowers, are available from Johnny's (www.johnnyseeds.com).

But let me know if there is more information you need - as I said, there are Poppies and there are Poppies, there are Larkspur and there are Larkspur...

Thank you for writing.