I really need guidance here. Every year I plant Delphiniums. they never do well. I've planted them in various spots to no avail. They never come up the next year. Total loss. I planted the last ones in a bed with Liatris, Tall Summer Phlox, Day Lilies etc. Everything does great. Except the Delphiniums. Lots of sun, well drained soil. I love this plant. It reminds me of my grandmother's garden. Can someone advise me? A nurseryman told me that the Delphiniums of today are not the same as the ones grown 40 to 50 yrs. ago. Is this true? I'm not giving up on this.
Delphiniums....never to return
I've been growing them since 1990. I started with Conneticut Yankee. In 1992, a guy grew Blue Springs and gave me some, but I don't think any are left. They had stiff spikes. Conneticut has a bushier habit. So far, I've had them in full sun in ordinary soil, but they seemed to need watering. Right now all are growing under a walnut tree. I have a pale blue with pink, deep blue, and purple with blue. They seem to regrow from the original plant. I don't feed or mulch. They don't like it dry, but need to be well drained, or they will rot. I hope you try again. I too really love them. I also start tying them up when they get over a foot tall. The wind can really make a mess out of them.
Remind me in the fall, and I'll send you seed from mine, with instructions on how to plant - I guarantee you some beauties, these have been growing for 6-7 years, and I've moved with them twice!
They are a little more difficult to start from seed, but the plants last much longer.
They set copious amounts of seed, too - I've got several different shades of blue - from light to dark.
2zeus, Oh my gosh! Those are beautiful!
Sherry
Thankyou, I love them - you're welcome to some seed as well, but since my memory is not what it once was, you'll need to remind me in fall, because I will have collected it, but completely airheaded out who it was to go to...sigh...
Those are beauties! I find I do good to keep them 2-3 years. They just don't seem to live very long here.
Susan
Thank you 2zeus. Your delphiniums are gorgeous. I would love to try some from seed, & I'll remind you come fall. My memory isn't what it used to be either.
Gloria
2zeus, what's the ornamental grass in the foreground of that picture?
Julia
Hi Julia,
It's called "Bulbous Oat Grass "
http://www.perennials.com/seeplant.html?item=8.030.100
I really love this grass for its delicacy and colour - looks fabulous with burgundy coloured foliage, or hostas, and is not fussy at all about where it grows - you can just dig off a clump of it, and start a new patch.
The stems grow from layered little bulbs-upon-bulbs, under the ground - hence the name.
A better picture, this is a smaller clump which I dug off the big one last year - takes a couple of years to become nice clump like the one in the last picture, but isn't invasive at all, and easy to remove.
nice show 2zues, i'd sure appreciate some seed.....cool if i dmail you? - jon
Absolutely fine - I've never grown it from seed, myself, but you're welcome to some if you like.
Thanks for the quick reply! Yours looks super. I'm reading that it goes dormant in summer heat, so not sure it would work for me, but I'll enjoy vicariously.
I'm in zone 7b, and it just stays the same all summer as it looks right now....doesn't go dormant for me.
2zeus,
Wow! They look like that all summer!!! Gorgeous! I will definitely take some of those seeds you so kindly offered.
Sherry
Want some delphinium seeds too? LOL! I better start making a list.
These are some of the delphiniums that grow under the walnut tree.
A favorite color.
Walnut tree bed, looking the other way.
Pale blue and pink.
I have had trouble with delphs when they are crowded in with other plants. They seem to need a little space, not from each other, but from other plants that may grow faster than them. This year my delphs did beautifully. I bought six pack very early at the nursery, transplanted them to 4 inch plants and let them grow in these plastic pots until they got sort of big, maybe May? Then I transplanted them into my mixed border in areas where the plants do not begin to grow until summer. They did fine. They just needed some space.
Great pictures, lovely plants.
I love that Bulbous Oat Grass!
sherrygirl, just re-reading this thread, I meant the grass looks like that all summer, not the delphs - just wanted to clarify that!
2Zeus,
Where did you buy your Bulbous Oat Grass?
Thank you.
I don't know what your summers are like in Buffalo...I am assuming not as high heat and humidty as Baltimore but we cannot have them for long because of that fact. It is basically why we can't have Meconopsis and Lupines also. They can take heat in the day but not all night also. Different climate is what they want.
taramark, I don't recall, I've had it for ages - sorry.
Not mail-order, anyway, it would have been locally, or from a friend.
2zeus how long is your deiphiniums in bloom?They are beautiful. I'll D mail you later for sure. I've got a lot of seed if you'd like to trade. PS..... Happy B-day
alesha801 - just went and looked in my garden diary (at home here, I mean, not on DG) and they started the end of May, and now the main flower spikes are finished, and they are blooming on the smaller secondary spikes.
According to my gardening book, if cut back to a foot tall, and fertilised a couple times during the summer, one can get another flush of bloom in the fall - I've never tried this, but may try it with one or two this year, just to see what happens!
I will have tons of seed in various shades of blue from very light to very dark, and you are welcome to some - I'm sure we can figure out a good trade for both sides.
(Oh, and thanks for the b-day wishes)
Gloriabythelake
I wonder if you got your question answered? I have had very good luck with delphiniums in highly amended raised beds up against the house. I've never grown it out standing on its own but maybe in our freeze and thaw winters being closer to the house protects it somewhat. I used aged horse manure and the delphs love it. Newer horse manure can contain a ton of weed seeds depending on what the horses are eating so you don't want to dump it on your beds without at least 18 months of aging. If you don't compost one way to do that is to dig a hole and fill it with the horse manure and then retrieve it when its ready, another is to fill a plastic burlap feed sack with the manure and just let it stand for the required time. I did this by accident one year by leaving a bag up against the house wall ( didn't want to bring it in my garage) and had the best bed I've ever seen. Letting the snow melt over it and run through it attracted so many worms it was like a worm pile in the soil underneath. I would never do this with raw manure - it has to be somewhat aged because horse poo has a high ammonium (N) content and you could burn your plants or cause rot in the root systems.
The 2nd part of the story is raised beds. Someone else mentioned they like well drained soil - I've found that also. I grew Pacific Giants this past winter by wintersowing and will do it again. I learned a lot from last year. Even the seedlings needed deep soil to stretch out in. But depending on your soil mix you don't want it to stay soggy so too wide a pot doesn't work either. But thats another story altogether - the raccoons and skunks got into my wintersown seedlings and I have 1 Pac Giant out of all the pots of delph seedlings I tended all winter. They also like moisture. I think if you can mulch them with a hardwood mulch they should be fine - keep it away from the crown of the plant.
I planted my 1 Pac Giant this year alongside Lilium Black Beauty and it's not going to bloom this year so if it lives... it will be joined by others next year. Wintersowing was very easy by the way - watch the WS forum starting in January or read Trudi D's website at Wintersown.org
So in all, if you can amend your planting area with high quality organics - even bagged humus will do, raise the bed height a few inches and keep them moist - I think you'll improve your chances.
If you've ever been to England - think of their weather - its misty or rainy almost every day in the summertime, often overcast, cool evenings and daytime temps are pretty moderate - rarely reach 80 - more like low 70's. This would lead me to only place delphs in an eastern exposure with morning sun. Our July and August afternoons would probably burn them up. Hope this helps! If you find some super sale prices on raggedy delphs late in the season maybe you can try again and keep them watered but I'd rather spend my money on postage for seed or buying seed as they do germinate easily. Hope this helps!!
I have the same problem. I asked my neighbor who is a landscape designer the same question and she told me that our soil is rather alkaline and delphinium likes more acidic soil. She suggested that I plant annual larkspur instead.
thank you alyrics for the tips. I think now that my problems have to do with exposure and water. I always planted them in the back garden (SW exposure) Both times they were in well drained spots but I think the summer heat sucked the life out of them. Not enough water for the location, also. This yr. I planted 4 new hydrangas in a NE part of the garden. I amended the soil with aged manure, peat & compost. Also with organic garden sulphur.
I think I'll try planting the delphiniums near the hydrangeas. I might have better luck.
As far as winter sowing goes, I'm a dismal failure at that. Any seedling that ever came up croaked. One winter, I had flats of pots all over the house, to no avail. Everything died miserably. Maybe I'll try again this winter. Thanks again, you're advice sounds good.
Gloria
Fabulous delphinium pics, everyone! They are the majesties of the garden, I think!
'Graceful Gardens' website has a lot of good information about delphinium culture and all the new delphinium cultivars available now. Especially the ones that grow well in North America. Maybe you will find it of interest. http://www.gracefulgardens.com/delphin.htm
And this seed company carries a huge variety of Delphinium seed
http://www.hardyplants.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=SP&Category_Code=Delphinium
And gloria, wintersowing is a lot of fun. I am the pits at growing things in the house, but wintersowing is simply sowing seeds in containers with a little protection from critters or too much weather outside. Works like a charm.
Good luck with your delphiniums. They are too hard to grow here--too much humidity and heat--so I will have to rely on your pictures next season!
Delphinium do well in our cool, moist summers, though we are considered a USDA Zone 3 and they are zoned for 5. I think the high temps and dryness of summers in many places could be an issue.