I just don't have the deep, rich soil or a sheltered spot for the big delphiniums, but the "Blue Butterfly" ones grow great for me. They're short-lived, but reseed (in a nice way)themselves. Mine are in full sun, and I fertilize monthly with Flower Tone.

HTH,

Celene

Don't apologize for using this forum - it needs more action!

I bought a couple dozen tiny baby delphiniums at DeMonye's 25¢ perennial sale in April. About 2/3 of them have survived and some just started blooming this week and they are SO beautiful!! There is royal blue, sky blue, deep purple. Another kind has pink buds but they aren't open yet.

I certainly don't have great soil (yet.) In fact, I planted these babies right in unamended clay (with mulch on top.) I've got a compost pile started but it's too new to use. I don't fertilize much. So far, the only fertilizer I've used is a big jug of some kind of Peters slow-release. I shook the little granules all over the place a couple wks. ago. They're all in FULL sun, with no shade at any time, and my yard is fairly open and windy. The sky blue ones had to be staked, but the others are very sturdy. The royal blue ones are unbelievably blue & pretty! It must be luck because I have little experience with Delphs. I think they liked the extended period of cool temps & rain after they were planted.

Before I moved, I had one light blue delph. with white center that was still going strong after 3 yrs in full sun until about 1:30 PM. So much for being 'generous' and not digging it up. There is an ugly concrete bench there now!

I love vertical, spiky plants, too. The purple Verbascums I also got at DeM.'s sale are starting to bloom. Certainly not the show-stoppers like the Delphs, tho. I also love Malvas and have several kinds. I've tried lupines several times but they always die within a couple months. They're not as tall, but have you tried Salvia farinacea?

Wow! Thanks for the success stories. I was beginnig to wonder if it was even possible to grow such beauties here. I don't see ANY in my area. I'm going to keep trying! Cross your fingers! My monkshod was just beautiful this year, but my lupine looks depressed.

I've had dwarf Fountains delphiniums that have come back for several years, but you're right; delphs don't like our Columbus summers!

I really like the "Chinese" delphiniums. I actually like the shape better than the English ones. (But I love the ones I have, sky blue with white and black bees, and navy blue with black bees!)

Bakemom, my mother in law has had one for several years but she has soil to die for and it is in a very sheltered location with partial sun. It's absolutely huge this year. I myself have never been able to get one to survive over winter. Last summer I resorted to sowing larkspur, which is an annual that looks like delphinium and it self-sows. It is blooming just fine this year in full sun. LOL!

I'm a hair further sounth in Northern Kentucky, but I have a nice batch of delps growing quite happily. One that got knock over by a storm before I got them staked had regrown and is starting to rebloom. Mine get full sun from about 11 am till sundown and get the full brunt of the wind which never stops. The soil I have is a little better then clay, but tends to hold moisture well. But I didn't amend anything nor have I fertilized these guys. At best I staked the stalks that hit the 3' + mark and they seem to be pretty happy.

I live on the Ohio, PA, WV border and this is the first year I have grown them. I planted Dwarf Fountaions in May.
They are in a mostly shady spot with well ammended soil. Mine are the prettiest plants in the garden right now. They are about 2 feet tall and half of the height is bloom spike. The plants were in the tiny four to a pack pot with the individual sections. They were sowed this spring according to the owner who grew them from seed. I thought they weren't supposed to bloom until next year. Live and learn. They are really my favorite plant this week.

Davena

After more observation, I'm still very happy with my Delph's but I've noticed there are 2 distinct kinds. Some have larger, fatter, lighter green leaves (and stalks) and these are much better at holding themselves up. The skinny-leaf ones have all flopped over. BUT the blooms do last a LONG time in a vase, which is where I put floppy flowers. Both kinds have provided many incredibly beautiful non-browning petals for my potpourri. (I save every petal with color in it that I can get my hands on. Unscented potpourri, but incredibly pretty when there's snow on the ground.)

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Thanks for the info all! I'm bound and determined to succeed! Hope to brag shamelessly next year like I did about my raspberries!

"Mushroom Compost" -- put it in three years in a row (haven't for the past two) but it makes EVERYTHING bloom BIG, especially delphiniums, and my clay soil is totally transformed to this day! After the second year of none of this particular compost, my delphs bit the dust so I'm ready for another treatment. I also had them in a protected area against my house with only morning sun-- and kept them moist--they were spectacular!

Hi, Bakemom, I'm in Columbus too. I also have had a hard time with delphs - I tried to grow two (2!) bags full of seeds of Giant Pacific Delphiniums, tried in peat flats, in the ground, and not ONE single seedling!!!
I bought a couple of plants at nurseries - but not the giant pacific variety that I really wanted. These are the pretty light blue blooms and kind of spindly plants, don't remember the varieties. Anyone in our zone had luck with the giant pacific variety?

I know you are probably talking about the big blue delphs, but for a tall, not true blue, but very nice plant, try D. exaltatum. You can get them from Munchkin Nursery.

Cbfindlay, did you put the delphinium seeds in the fridge or freezer before sowing?
I'm planting delph seeds for the first time and I just received 2 packages of Pacific Giants. According to many gardeners on the Internet, you should chill the seeds in the fridge or freezer to break their dormancy.
I just did that, and threw them in the ground last night with a mix of mushroom manure, clay and sand.

The last batch of Pacific Giant seeds I tried sowing did not germinate - I believe it's because I didn't try the fridge/freezer method.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pacific Giant sowing

I just recently had decent germination of Pac. Giant seed without any pretreatment.

Delphinium 'Connecticut Yankees' is widely considered an especially dependable and relatively long-lived (for Delphiniums) seed strain. Several plants have been blooming for about the past 2 months in a front bed. Nice color range including white and multiple blues including a medium to dark blue that's very snappy.

Oh, thanks much for the suggestions and the seed. No, I did not know about the chilling treatment. Now I feel kind of silly.... was I to sow these this fall, not this spring? What I don't know could fill the internet...

From what I've researched, you should follow the natural process of the delphinium dropping its seeds, and sow your seeds from mid to late summer.

Here is some info I found on the Internet:

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When to plant. Your first crop of Delphinium blooms will, in this climate(Mass. USA), go to seed in July. The seed drops on the ground, the wind covers it lightly with dust, and moisture and sunshine do the rest. So then, plant your Delphinium seeds some time before August 10 if possible.

How to plant. As we have seen, Nature does not bury the seeds at all, it barely covers them. So press your seed into the soil and then sift over them lightly some sandy soil or even just fine sand.

Moisture. Nothing will grow without moisture. Therefore, it is essential that your seedbed not be permitted to dry out but be kept consistently moist but not muddy. This may be best accomplished by watering the soil well before planting.
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Mine germinated in the spring, but the slugs and my neglegence made sure I didn't ahve any to transplant

Hello, I live in Michigan and have grown Delphs from seed for some years. They are my favorite flower, even though they are challenging. They are short-lived mostly. So I grow seedlings every year to keep expanding my beds. Good luck in 2005! Rose

Hi, I've grown Fountains delphiniums for several years. Short lived, about two years on average, but pretty when in bloom. I have them planted in somewhat amended clay, afternoon sun, near a cedar tree. I wonder what the secret is (the soil could be more acid from the cedar). I don't do anything special, yet have talked to others that couldn't get them to grow in their yard either, so you aren't alone. Take heart, after all those garden swaps, you've still got more plants than I do! Good luck and hope to see you this spring!

I have had good luck with English Delphinium (Delphinium elatum--seed from the Delphinium Society in U.K.). They are 4 to 5 1/2 foot beauties that get semi shade in the hot Chicago afternoons. After trial and error, I got most of mine to overwinter (for 6 years so far) by giving them excellent drainage and making sure no stray leaves or plant material make them soggy over the cold months. They like rose food. Also, they like 2 or 3 tablespoons of powdered lime. When I feel a plant might be in competition with tree or shrub roots, I sink a 16" wide plastic pot into the ground and fill with planters mix, some coarse sand, a little lime and a little blood meal. They thank me with beautiful leaves and 2 flowering cycles. (You have to cut back the depleted first blooms to get the second blooming). They get water from a drip hose , along with my roses. If I mulch, I never put the mulch within an inch of the crown (stems). This is one plant that will rot if the crown gets too wet. The biggest challenge is preventing wind damage, rigging stakes and cord that actually do the job and aren't too obtrusive. All the books on delphiniums warn against ruining the root system and crown by placing the stakes too close in, but none say how to avoid the ugliness and unnatural appearance of the stakes. I keep waiting for some clever person to invent something, some almost invisible corkscrew-like thing that will not touch the base of the plant. I've wracked my brain, but I guess I'm not that clever person. They're pretty easy; they've never had a disease problem (unlike the roses!) and the only work is the necessity to stake.

For staking delphs I use tomato cages, the tallest and biggest I can find. I spray them green. After I plant the delph, the cage goes around and I never take it off unless I need to divide them. If any of the plant grows outside the cage, you can tie the stems to the cage . I also tie the cage to my fence, so our strong Ks winds can't blow them over. d. elatum seed is the best and it should be fresh seed. Occasionally here we can buy English seed delph plants.

flowergirl70ks: Clever idea to paint the tomato cages! I may try it. I agree about the freshness of seed. I pop mine into the fridge in a sealed baggie as soon as the seed arrives. Some of my delph elatum seed from Duncan McGlashan kept for five years in the fridge and was still viable. I've read opinions both ways about whether or not to freeze seed for 24 hours before germinating, so I did a test and found , indeed, a far greater germination rate with the short-term freezing than with no freezing. What's your experience with freezing delph seed?

I purchased and planted Delphinium for a few years and had no luck, so I stopped buying them. Two years later, a huge plant suddenly showed up in my garden. Blue and pink flowers. I cut back the stalks as the flowers died and ended up getting blooms three times. I'm curious to see if it will come back this year.

Delphinium seed definately needs a cooling period to germinate well. There is an excellant article on growing delphs in Fine Gardening magazine # 39, page 46.

Is mid April the right time I should see delphinium's new growth coming up from the ground? I planted it last year (one with beautiful deep blue flowers) but have not seen any action at all this year. I hope it's not dead! I'm in zone 5 in lower Michigan.

I'd pretty much written of my WS delphs from lasst year. They never got more thant 3-4" tall and, as I remember, they just sort of vanished by the end of the summer.

DEspite the obvious message that these do not work for me from seed, I started some more dwarf Fountain delphs this winter.

And lo' and behold! I look out in the yard last night and realize 3 of last years have emerged -- and are already 6" tall! I think they just need a little more patience (and a safe planting bed where they can snooze for a year!)

If you get a chance to grow the Dwarf Magic Fountains, I can't praise them enough. I love my Chinese delphs, but -- these are soooo pretty!
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GORGEOUS!

Thanks, Alison. I guess I can say goodbye to my last-year delphinium and start over again. The ones you have are just beautiful.

Wower, Alison. Those are beautiful. Patience...hmm...interesting concept. LOL. Thanks for posting those.

Beverly