It may depend upon your zone. Delphs like cold weather much more than warm. It seems they are short lived in the warmer zones. I think you will just need to give it a try.

By the way, my winter sowed delphiniums seem to live longer than purchased plants.

Teresa

My Mom grew beautiful delpiniums for years that seemed to persist. She probably divided them and there may have been some self seeding but they were as tall as she was (6feet). THey got a good mulch of dairy manure each spring. They even outgrew the slugs!

I am learning about propagating mine from shoots. I have been buying the New Zealand Hybrids and seem to loose them after a few years, but hope I can propagate them to continue this way. I do have a few in the flowerbeds that have been around for probably 5 years and have grown into very large plants now, but I am not sure what their origonal sources were.It may be that they are like some other perennials that use up the nutrition they like in the soil and dwindle. I do add a bit of lime to counteract my very acid soil.

it depends. I find that they will go on almost indefinately but over time, the form and size of the plant changes. Generally, they tend to become stockier with more branching although the florets are looser on the stem. However, I grow mine in sandy soil with negligible fertilising (treat them mean, keep them keen - same advice applies to husbands). I hate the business of staking and find that growing them harder diminishes the need for much support. They are easy to propagate with basal cuttings with a little root (Irishman's cuttings) taken as soon as they start to appear above ground (early march for me).

The huge, glorious pacific giant delphiniums are basically annuals in the mid-atlantic. Instead of breaking our hearts over a plant that just doesn't like our summers (or slugs), we either grow the annual larkspur instead, which will reseed every year (for most people), or we grow the delphinium belladonna types, which are much more apt to be perennial (I had one that lasted 6 years).