Specialty Gardening: Cottage Garden Seed Swap and Chat #41, 1 by starlight1153

starlight1153 wrote:
For delphiniums I grow the Pacific Giants. Supposedly delphs aren't suppose d to be able to grow down here, btu they do for sure.

Mine start blooming in April and May until June. They durign the hottest months of July and August they go somewhat dormant and come back up in September and October with new growth, but usually don't bloom. Durign July and August I usually have some shade over them.

I also grow the the Dwarfs. The dwarfs look more liek airy plants and they don't get as tall, btu they wil have loads and loads of small blooms all ove r them at all times. They not a s striling a s the Pgiants but they are pretty too.

The biggest problem folsk have with delpiniums is they bury the crowns. They bury them too deep. They hate wet feet big time. it rots them out in aheart beat if t hey kept wet too long and it stops growth and bud formations.

I had somebody who planted hudnreds of Delphs and they burie d the corwns and almost lost all the plants. Had to go back and redo them all over and pull up the crowns. Was a nightmare.

This pic is one I did bed for local college. This bed is surroudned by pure hot cement and full sun all day long . I just kept deadheaded and they kept on blooming til about july.

Had planters fileld with delpiniums and othe r smalle r plants too all over the place.

If you mulch them over durign the winter. You need to make sure come spring you get that mulch all removed and dig aroudn and make sure crown is unburied too. Even a quarter inch of excess soil on crowns is enough to keep them from growing an dblooming properly.