What sort of growing conditions do Delphiniums like? I have tried them several times but can't get them to survive past the first or second year. Living in the Ohio River valley we have alkaline soil, and seems like the last several years we have had wet and cool springs, followed by hot dry summers. I would like to try them again (I'm a sucker for blue flowers), maybe if I knew more about the plant requirements it would help. Thanks.
Jim
Delphiniums?
Great question! I have the same problem. I tried "Summer Night" and "Blue Butterfly" two years in a row and none of them came back up. :-(
I'll pile on here 'cause I've had the same struggle.
Hi everyone,
I'll answer even though I'm not an expert by any means. I just love my delphiniums and they do well here. I know they are a short-lived perennial so having them die after several years isn't uncommon. They like alkaline soil but hate hot, dry weather. I have some that are on their 3rd year but with last summer's drought and heat I did lose three. They seem to do well for me planted in partial shade. The ones I lost were planted on the sunny side of my house and the ones planted in partial shade out of the wind grew about a foot taller than the others. It was interesting to see.
I always buy the smaller plants in the 4" pots rather than anything larger. For some reason they adapt better and yet still bloom the first year. Also, I don't mulch them over the winter. Can't remember where but I did read they don't like or need it.
Hope this helps.
Delphiniums seem to like New England...its great to have a plant that does well here that doesn't do too well other places! there are only a very few such plants. They really can't stand a warm summer... I think that's the bottom line. The delphiniums that I have that do best I have started from seed. Nurseries tend to sell large plants, maybe so folks whose climate doesn't suit them so well can atleast have a season's bloom, but the large plants don't settle in as well as baby plants. Nonetheless delphiniums are not known as long lived plants, they often start to dwindle after several years (4-5 years maybe)..sort of bloom themselves out, and need replacing. I have some amazing plants started from New Zealand seed- check out their site for some beautiful pictures!-Dowdeswell Delphiniums http://www.delphinium.co.nz/Galleries.htm
Does anyone know if they would be perennial in TX? I threw out a bunch of seeds last fall and have quite a few good size plants now. If they aren't annuals then I'm going to have to move some of them.
Do I deadhead them? Will they die to the ground after blooming? This is what happens when you get over excited with seed packets. :)
Thanks for the replies. I'll try to find some small ones and put them in more shaded areas. It's probably too late to start from seed this year, but I'll try next year, have never tried starting them from seed. I have a lot of various seeds that need planting, but it's been raining so often that the ground doesn't get dry enough to work, the wild voilets and ground ivy are really doing fine, pulled eight or ten five gallon buckets full of them yesterday and put in the compost pile, now if I can just get it cooking.
Jim
konkreteblond:
Those are just gorgeous. Major plant envy here. I don't know if they'll be perennial for you or not. I just know they don't like hot weather and you seem kind of far south. They don't spread at all so maybe you could leave them were they are.
If you cut them down to about six inches once the blooms start fading they generally have another smaller bloom in the fall.
Thank you! I have different purples and some pinks too. They are so pretty so I think I will cut them back and see if I can get another bloom. We defintely get a lot of heat here but maybe if my other stuff comes up and shades them some they will bloom again.
I agree with Arachide about starting with smallish plants - I've certainly had more success when I do. Despite the awful drought here last season I got a nice stand of delphs in very early summer. I should add that I use a manure based compost on them which helps I think. there's a photo in my profile that shows a garden shot of them - can't get it to load here.
The pic in your profile is just beautiful! Are the Delpheniums the tall blue things on the left? I'm jealous of all your beautiful trees. Doesn't seem quite fair that here where it's so hot we don't have many!
No expert here either but I grew 3 for quite a few years. The last one died last winter. They were gorgeous - over 4 ft tall. The one in the garden, full sun, full wind, etc, died first. The other two were on the east side of the house, sun till abt noon and lived 4 years for the white with black bee and 5 years for the purple/blue with black bee. They also had some wind protection there, but I still had to stake them for protection from south winds. They also had to be dusted every year for mildew. The blooms were so awesome, I'll get some more, even tho they're a bit of work. Good Luck!
thanks, konkreteblond. I bought this place nearly ten years ago to the day...and the trees are what sold me. The electric blue flowers are the delphiniums- very vivid especially at the end of the day when the sun was hitting them again....they're up about 2.5 feet so far this year.
BTW, do you have crape myrtles or camellias? Trade you some firs, walnuts and uh, your choice *grin*
konkreteblond- what are growing so beautifully in your picture are annual larkspurs, I think--- they do self seed some, but they sure seem to take to your garden, so you should keep the seed packet thing going!
sjms,
Even those dark puple ones on the left are larkspurs? If so, I may try some of the annual larkspurs next year on the sunnier side to balance out the delphiniums on the left shady side. I wonder if the larkspur would come up as early as the delphinium. For some reason I had it in my head that the larkspur version were kind of scraggly looking, not as nice as these. Of course I never really bothered to check it out LOL. Cool.
Yes, they are Larkspurs. I'm going to see if I have another packet of those seeds and see if it says "annual" on them.
Aren't Delpheniums and Larkspurs the same thing? The PlantFiles say they are.
I always thought of it as Larkspurs are annuals and delphiniums are perennial, though I know nothing of botany.
Thank you arachide, sjms, kooger & Jersey for the tips. I'll try small plants or seeds. I have acidic soil. How much lime do I add for a plant? Or do I give up?
Dave
Jumping in - I'll ditto Arachide.
Mine do much better when I start off with smallish plants, and they're planted where they get good morning sun and dappled shade through the heat of the afternoon. On the belladonna and grandiflorum delphs, I let a couple of blooms set seed to collect, but otherwise I keep them deadheaded. If you plant them from seed, start them outdoors in August or September. If you try to start them in spring you most likely will not get a first year bloom. I direct seed mine. They can bloom themselves out pretty quickly, but some varieties will reseed themselves easily. The one that I've had the best luck with is d. elatum Connecticut Yankees. They're a little shorter so I usually don't have to stake them, and I'm on year four with several fat and heathly clumps. About the only special care that I give them is a little extra compost tea in the early spring. They don't seem to take well at all to anything with manure in it, but I'm not sure why.
They love a very fertile soil and somewhat raised or well drained conditions. I think wet feet in any time of year will sink them faster than anything. I also think they don't like their foliage to be crowded - that is just my observation after growing the larger varieties from plants. We think of the tall flower spikes but they take up a bit of room at the bottom with their foliage.
They Wintersow-ed very easily and I planted out quite a few earlier this spring already. You need to shade the little seedlings though because I burned up several by putting into the direct sun. My most successful seedlings are shaded by lily and Valerian foliage - the Valerian is easy to remove leaves from its so hardy so I can manipulate that plant to correct the light conditions for the growing delph seedlings. I also cut the Valerian back after it blooms to make room for other things coming up behind it and I expect at that point the delphiniums will fly on their own. I grew Pacific Giants from seed and had good germination. I
I meant to say that they will do best in morning sun. Sun after 1 pm is possibly too strong to keep the flowers looking good. Filtered high shade would also be good. I would consider them truly an amended soil plant to look good. They aren't going to want lean soil, rocks, heavy clay, too much sun or any extreme conditions.
hmmm..concerning annual and perennial delphiniums, they really are quite different.. The perennial ones- mostly D.elatum group, are really tall- like 4-6ft , and grow in cool summer climates- Popular names are like the Round Table series- Guenivere, King Arthur,etc or the Pacific Giants, the Pegan Purples- Then what some people call larkspurs, or annual delphinium -they are, I think D grandiflorum or D cosolida?? not really sure of the latin.. are shorter and grow great in places like California where they make their start in the fall or winter and bloom in the spring- I can't grow them quite as well here, but I try because they make wonderful cut flowers. They are shorter and come in a nice range of purple and pink colors. here's a picture from a new zealand grower of perennial delphiniums. http://www.delphinium.co.nz/
This message was edited May 15, 2006 8:48 AM
There are d. grandiflorums that are perennial, too.
the short bright blue fluffy ones like "butterfly blue" are d. grandiflorum, correct? they are surviving quite well here, actually- a nice little plant-
yep, sjms. I have those too - Love them. I think my favorite of the grandiflorum is Summer Nights. The colors in the blooms are amazing when you look closely.
Are you deadheading the Blue Butterfly? I love them - color as well as form - but they just seem to disappear after the first flowers. Literally - I have trouble finding the "remains."
Julie
My delphinums are doing good if they last 3 years here. Most only make it for two years. I just keep replacing them though because I really like them. Here is a new one I bought this year with a white bee.
Susan
Mine are on the east with morning sun. Also did a little experiment last year- my friend at the nursery says they are susceptible to crown rot - so I planted them high in the soil, on a slight slope. The ones on the top side of the hill overwintered great, on the lower side, they all died. Probably the problems with compost or mulch are from getting it inside the crown of the plant.
I buy them every year like annuals, anyway.
Hi, barbnjim,
Since you are close to Munchkin Nursery, I wanted to add this link explaining a little bit about growing delphiniums and native larkspur in our humid climate...
http://www.munchkinnursery.com/newsletter/delphinium-exaltatum/
I am trying to grow larkspur this year from seed. Haven't had any luck with true delphiniums --the summer heat and humidity here really annoys them I think.
My Wintersown larkspur have are ready to plant out, but I haven't had the time to. They germinated very nicely.
getting the sense that there are all sorts of region specific methods for pampering delphs!back to JulieKane- I have 2 blue butterfly in a spot that have come up now maybe 4 years but others I have planted have rather promptly "disappeared"- perhaps they either like their spot, or hate it.. the place they have chosen to live is dryer than I would have thought they would like- oh I'm just remembering- they do sometimes go dormant during the peak of summer, and reappear as little tufts in the fall- like an oriental poppy. odd.
The delphiniums I bought this spring from Walmart have a needle-like foliage, but they also sell some that have more of a leaf for foliage. The one I bought was "Blue Butterflies". (edited, because I found the tag)
This message was edited May 18, 2006 7:27 AM
That's a pretty one.
I can't find any pictures of the kind with the needle-like foliage. Anyone know of any out there?
My asking above got lost in the traffic, but I would appreciate it if anyone could tell me how much lime to add for delphiniums or what ph they prefer.
Thanks
dave
Hi Dave:
Here is a site with lots of good info on amending your soil. It will tell you the type and amount of amendments to add. If you click on the link "pH & Acidity" it also has a list of plants and their preferred soil pH and information on lime. It says delphiniums prefer a pH of around 6.
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/fred.moor/soil/index.htm
I hope this helps.
Hi Barbnjim, Thank you for this thread. I too, live in Louisville and have never had luck with Delphs. I love them so but have a 100% failure rate. I`ve gotten some great help and info here. And guess what? I``m gonna try um again!!!! Lesley
I don't have space for the standrad Delphiniums. I grow the dwarf alpines types. Individual flowers are the same size but the overall spike may have only 6-12 flowers. Most of mine are barely budding but this D. kamaonense is just starting to open. The entire plant is just 6" high!
ooooohhhh! I need that! Stunningly blue. I didn't realize there were delphiniums that were so short.
I have a question, two years in a row I have bought a red one called
carolina at lowes. It has not come back, is it a larkspur ? my blues have come back three years now from seed, two big plants, then I have about three dwarf not sending up flower stalks or growing, its been a dry spring here, in the 70's unusual for rainy seattle
My 'Blue Butterflies' are not looking so good. Already. :-(
Here are mine just getting ready to bloom
