I have never seen birds eat the leaves either. You probably would only need the net over the leaves until they mature. Maybe they taste good to them because they are young tender leaves.

If the seeds are large enought to handel, transplant to indidvidual containers.

outside in full shade for a few days .. then a few days in morning or evening sunlight ... then out into blinding sunlight.. its called hardening them off to sunlight .. nothing in the house compares .. i would transplant on a cloudy or rainy day ... the same for hardening off to temps.. for others.. as i assume you z8 is probably all set in that regard for this spring ... ken

Sunnyborder, mxk3- thanks! a2Zmom, the yellow fluffy thing is Thalictrum flavum ssp. glaucum. I have 3 belladonnas of which I had Piccolo and Volkerfrieden for several years and Atlantis for 2 years. Piccolo stands exceptionally well(stormproof). For the first time this year it got mildewed so I was forced to cut it down. But normally it is breathtaking .Of the elatum ones I have some I bought and many from seed. The bought ones are mainly of German origin and were created by Karl Foerster in the first half of the last century. I chose those which stand up without staking. Jelitto Seeds had seed from the best cultivars for many years, that's where I bought the seed. But I do not know if they still sell them. I only keep the best seedlings, and throw the floppers out. The English cultivars are mainly good for cut flowers, their florets are too big and too heavy to stand up in the garden , and they need special staking. North53, now that you mentioned this: resounding YES! And FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE!!! I wouldn't know, but I observed a flock of sparrows landed on 2 plants. There was so many of them , that some florets broke! I immediately checked what was going on, and I could not notice any worms, so I assumed the sparrows just ate the buds for fun. Now I have to check again! Some more combinations Phlox and Eryngium alpinum Eryngium alpinum and delphinium seedling Eryngium alpinum from seed are like snowflakes: each has its own pattern of "teeth" Aruncus Horatio, I kept it because my wife likes it. It is bigger than I expected, very robust My oldest plant 30+, Lythrum salicaria Here is the delphinium on which sparrows have landed and broke the florets Blue and red This post was edited by wieslaw59 on Sat, Jul 20, 13 at 12:08