ann, i am growing the new millineum delphs developed by the dowdeswells in new zealand and they have so far performed beautifully in the hot mucky muck climate here. i even had rebloom on some of them in august. i totally expected them to fall into a faint and decline when the heat and humidity started, but it didnt seem to faze them. i got mine from graceful gardens, beautiful healthy plants at a decent price. you too can grow delphs!

carol

Here is a link that might be useful: graceful gardens

Ann, I also had no luck in the past with delphiniums here in MD. But I really love them and used to have them in every garden I had in the past. So I kept trying. Five years ago I started planting New millenium delphs and they are not declining for me. I add every year new ones but the old ones are still here. They are huge and wonderful, everything you can wish for.
Similar to Carol I also get them from gracefull gardens.
Olga

Okay, now you have my attention. I tried delphs once - "fall into a faint" is such a good description. I think one strayed under a giant false baptista and managed to survive there for a short while.

So now I have to try these New Millenium delphs. I like the tray thing. I can take another whack at my cottage garden.

Hi Ann,
Delphiniums are my next favorite flower (roses are no. 1, of course!) and my climate is delphinium heaven. When my DH was trying to win my love, he had a HUGE arrangement of blue delphiniums sent to my door... (I had told him in one of our first conversations that I loved them)...up until that point, he was still in the "friend zone"....with that floral surprise we got a lot more serious, fast! So we make sure we have plenty of these beauties growing in our yard, year after year.
Here's a few pictures to warm your heart.

Celeste

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I so have Delph envy. Mine didn't faint they just croaked. I am certain that I can get at least some to grow if I find the right kind, sigh. Maybe there's hope for us, I know I'm not ready to give up.

Carla

Still very new at this gardening stuff. Love the delphiniums, but I just treat them as a wonderful annual here and replant every year. With our summer heat, after a bloom in May/June, they just wave "bye-bye" and expire. I am also trying foxgloves this year.

Thanks for the head-up, as it were! Celeste, your photos are gorgeous. Off to visit Graceful Gardens!

I too am a delphimium fanatic! I can't think of anything more beautiful than the combination or pink roses (or yellow, or apricot, or etc etc etc) and all the many shades of blue, purple and lavender provided by delphiniums! I also love their shapes with roses. I am trying the New Millenium "Royal Aspirations" this year (my dear mother-in-law gave me a gift certificate at White Flower for Christmas this year, so that's where I'm getting them). I have grown Pacific Giants, Bellamosums, and Gradifloras for years. I find that the PGs will last several years for me. The Bellamosums are fairly reliable as perennials - the gradifloras are stricly annual. One suggestion I have: try growing them from seed! They germinate fairly easily, and you can get single colors from Stokes Seeds. If you start them very early (Jamuary) and fertilize the babies well, religiously pot them into bigger and bigger pots as they grow all spring, you'll have blooming plants in summer. Its way cheaper than providing for all your delphinium needs from garden centers!

Ann, I think I am responsible for that rumor. Blush. Last year, when we went to Charleston at Easter, a stand at the farmer's market on Mount Pleasant has delphs. The girl at the stand claimed they were grown locally. The gal at the stand didn't know enough about them to tell me the variety or any tricks to growing them. They were lusciously enviable though! Majestic tall spires - yum! I wonder if they were the New Milleniums. I'd like to give those a try.
-Stephanie

Stephanie,
The rumor goes back years. There is a group of Carolina Nurserymen who might know of a member who are delph dependent. The Tea plantation has changed hands but still exits so maybe the delphs are out there, as well.
Carol, that catalog is a fine piece of one handed enabling, thank you.
And Celeste's pictures have finally all loaded for me...the size of the delph blooms in the tea pot with the roses ....mind stretching!
Perhaps we need a delph subgroup: Old garden rose lovers, delph lusters.

Olga gave me one of her delphinium plants last year and it bloomed very well. I have yet to see if it will survive in my garden where my others have died. But I think I am hooked and will order some now I know what kind to get and a good source! I've always loved these. I have had dismal germination rate from starting these from seeds unlike Frances. I find they are trickier than other varieties to get started. Well, I had one pack of seeds where I got tons of plants one year and other packs from somewhere else were duds and got zip. Maybe Stokes Seeds is a more reliable source than who I use.

I wonder if they didn't grow them as a late fall-winter plant, when the heat dies down, and it is down right pleasant weather in that area. They could've used a soil mix with alkaline pH.

I used to have delphinium envy but not anymore. Click the link to read about my journey into these glorious perennials.

Patrick

Here is a link that might be useful: From my garden journal: Roses and Delphiniums

I have seen gorgeous delphiniums in Whitnall Park in Milwaukee, WI and in the Pacific Northwest where I also had a few as potted plants. I think I had the shorter Magic Fountains type. They don't need staking. I have had a number of trips to Woodland Park in Seattle where later in the summer the delphiniums were in much better shape than the roses for whatever reasons. The big delphiniums just reminded me of big, blue popsicles. On a hot, summer day that didn't sound too bad.

I've enjoyed this thread immensely, especially the beautiful photos and bits of info. Somebody in Chicago said they can't grow any. People grow them here, not that much but you see them, they look like the usual Pacific Giants, probably buy theirs from the nursery in pots.

Now I would rather buy in pots and be done with it but seeds are so much cheaper and a lot more work. Plus you can get exactly what you want. I ordered mine from T&M and don't always get the best germination rates from their seeds, but they have most of the stuff I want at one source and things you don't find anywhere else.

So I ordered some seeds, foxglove, Pacific Giants (never tried to grow them before), cleome (seeds itself), violas, begonias (a mistake), odds and ends, may have to rip that cleome out, gotta get some things in and around to fill in the empty spots.

When I read what the person wrote about starting them in January so they will bloom the first year, I thought oh no. Just what I need. More work, especially the transplanting into bigger and bigger pots which I don't have enough and hardening off. I can grow some inside, but not all, so I've been planting my seeds outside and transplanting them from there. But you have to wait until it's warmer and perennials seldom bloom the first year that way.

Can't you just sow them directly in the ground, try to keep them watered and hope for the best?

Google unearthed a 1996 reference to a visit to Rosebank Farm in Chaleston County, SC, where delphiniums and roses were grown for the cut flower market.
Current Rosebank Farm searches indicate there is a Cafe there and that Rosebank Farm had both hydrangeas and gourds as the fall Charleston Garden Show 2006.
Could someone call them and see what's happened with their delph fields?

Here is a link that might be useful: Rosebank Farm- a very basic website

You might be interested if its new to you that they now have repeating delphs (claimed - waiting for mine to prove it) and a red one I never knew existed until I found it for the first time ... not blood red but red with a tan tint to it (costs a bomb for a 2 gallon pot, if remember right about $22cdn).

not a good pic, but the red is on the left
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I haven't tried Delphinium, I have Larkspur, I planted it about ten years ago and now it is everywhere...sometimes nicely, so like this...
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Aliska, they are very easy from seed. I have grown all of mine from seed, except the New Milennium seedlings I bought last spring (cheaper than buying NM seeds!) You don't need to start them early, they always bloom for me the first year when started in spring. When established, they repeat at least 3 x summer-fall.

I haven't tried just sowing them in the garden, but I don't see why that wouldn't work if you started early enough and kept watch over them. I say this because one summer I was very busy and didn't get around to dead-heading my delphs; they went to seed and the next year I had several seedlings come up. The bonus was the seedlings grew up to bloom blue like the mother plant.

Riku, has that red one overwintered yet? I tried 'Nudicale' in my client's garden and it did poorly, certainly did not make it over the winter.

I tried the short (12") 'Blue Mirror' last year and they were the most gorgeous color blue, and you can plant them at the foot of your roses. They were in near-constant bloom, like annuals, but are supposed to be a perennial. I saved seed just in case and will be planting some of these in spring.

'Blue Mirror' delphs + Pat Austin
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veilchen, thanks for the encouragement. The practical thing to do is start a few indoors and sow the rest outside. I would like to establish several clumps of them, not all lined up in a row.

My that larkspur looks pretty in that photo with what I believe is Veilchenblau.

Yes, that is Veilchenblau...it was not planned, it just happened.

No Veilchen this is the first year for it ... not sure what the name was but it has a very different leaf and stem structure that you can see from the picture from the classical "delps" I normally grow in the garden - very few leafs and very long and very narrow.

I let mine self-sow. So I understand is this New Mill the repeating variety ? - the repeating one I planted did not give me the class head structure but it is young - 1st year.

By the way don't ever plant what I call blue thistle showing in the bottom right ... does not work with roses in my opinion and the leaves are rigid and like knife blades when you bump into them.

Don't most Delphiniums (ie., the ones that the genus is famous for, the ones that look like the Pacific Giants) require an awful lot of bother with stakes & such, even if you live in a congenial climate?

Yup the classics do if you live in windy Calgary because the stalks and leaves are brittle .. I use peonie hoops and try not to touch them.

Riku, all delphiniums will repeat by their 2nd year. Just make sure to deadhead them or even cut the old flower stalk to the ground. I have Pacific Giants, NM, dwarf (3-4'), and the tiny ones called Blue Mirror in the pic above.
They all bloom at least 3x a season for me, sometimes 4x. The Blue Mirror seem in continuous bloom like an annual.

Yes staking is a p.i.t.a. especially since I hate staking. But if I don't do it they all flop eventually. They're not as bothered by wind as they are rain, esp. when they're in bloom. Even the dwarf ones need staking in my garden. Sometimes all it takes is a gentle shower and the weight of the rain on their petals keels them over.

Then, after the initial staking, you have to re-stake them for their subsequent blooms, which are shorter than the first. I usually replace the tall 6' stakes with 4' ones at this point and try to keep up with staking each flower stalk as it comes up.

Thanks and interesting, I am going to have go yank out that tag and try and find out why they were so proud of advertising it was repeating to satisfy my curiosity. I also have Iris (rock star, battle royal, immortal and breakers) that were advertised as repeating but did not even with dead heading, but again only one year in the ground and previous advice offered was that they were fall repeat ... starting to believe my zone 3 summer is even shorter than I thought compared to zone 5 or be more patient as in the starting days with roses. Mind you having been a week at Bethel attending a shrink tank ... I mean Think Tank in July I know you are definitely hotter in Maine.

Well amazing what a little research will do ... got my answer on the irises ... sporatic = type 1 ... sporatic does not cut it up here. Assuming my immortal is really immortality it might have a chance with a 3+ rating (ever blooming).

Here is a link that might be useful: reblooming iris ratings

Don't feel bad, Riku, even here in balmy zone 5 Maine not many "reblooming" irises have enough time to rebloom. If they do, it is more of a bonus than an expectation. But Immortality is one of the sure bets, at least around here.

A few years ago, I was visiting an old garden rose garden here in Virginia and there were some stately delphs that were just going to seed. I snatched a bunch of them and they germinated extremely well. That summer was one of the hottest and driest I remember and only one plant survived. The plant I have is still very small compared to the parent, but it did bloom this year. I let one stalk go to seed so I could collect them to increase my stock. I also purchased Delphinium belladonna 'Bellamosum' and it survived the summer, I have my fingers crossed.

Kathy

I just planted my first Delphiniums (Blue Mirror) and I just love them! What a beautiful vivid addition to my courtyard garden. Does any one know when to cut them for an indoor bouquet without risking losing the outdoor blooms?
Also, I am new here and figured out how to post a photo in the gallery but how do I post it in my message?

You do this:

I can't seem to write the description of the photo code without it showing a broken image, maybe someone else knows how to write it correctly. There is also a test forum, I believe for images.

I ordered a lot of delphs from Graceful Gardens. They are the only ones it seems, to come back. I put them all over the yard, and they are coming up nicely now (just the folige near the ground, but it's exciting to see). I can't seem to get mine to rebloom, what's the trick and where do I prune to?

Susan, you cut the flower stalks all the way to the ground (unless one of the delph queens here says otherwise).

I've had intermittent luck over the years, but during our prolonged drippy spells, they tend to croak suddently from crown rot. This is a fungus that travels over the soil surface as dark brown fibers. The other thing is slugs, which will chew off every emergent shoot unless the plants are carefully protected.

For big blue spikes, I have a patch of great blue lobelia (L. siphilitica), a bulletproof native plant that blooms with the second flush and for a good long time.

I haven't tried delphiniums for a while, but the new kinds sound intriguing. Does anyone know whether groundhogs eat delphs?

I am green with envy! What beautiful delphiniums you've all been growing.

With all the plant materials available to me for my hardiness zone, you'd think I'd be satisfied. Why do I always want what I can't have?

Thanks for the recommendation of the New Milleniums...it sounds like my best hope yet for some of these blue spires to plant with my yellow and white roses. But I'm holding off.

The people at Graceful Gardens are growing theirs in upstate NY, a far cry from my sultry Zone 7. Also, The New Perennial Club (www.perennials.com) had the New Milleniums listed as one of their Top Ten for 2006. All the acolades at their site are for strong stems and color range. Nowhere do they mention anything about resistance to heat and humidity.

Oh, well, back to Adenophora. At a mere 36" it's a dwarf compared to stately delphs, but better than no blue spikes at all.

I hope everyone growing the New Milleniums in Zone 6b and hotter will check back here in August to let us know how things are progressing! I just might HAVE to order some NM delphs for next year!

Michael,
the one time I bought a delph at a local garden center and kept it going in a horrid hot and dry spot for two years (on the south side of one of our outbuildings) the ground hog who lived under that out building didn't eat it.
Your lobelia sounds like a must have, BTW.
Ann

I tried the test page and it isn't helpful. I did manage to post it in the gallery and they didn't have any "Blue Mirror" Delphs, so now they do.
If anyone can help me figure out how to upload photos into these messages, I would ove your input!~
Darla

Regular delphiniums did fine for me in 2006 but they did not return. I ordered early, very early (last year) from Graceful Gardens, but the little seedlings were not shipped until almost mid April so I doubt they will make it. It is way too hot by that time to start with them. The ones I had that made it in 2006 were purchased locally in December and they bloomed up until about mid to late May and I cut them back, they bloomed once more in early fall. Alas, they disappeared, probably from crown root. I will not order any more unless I know they will be shipped in time for my zone.

I do, however, have a garden full of larkspur from seed. I never could get them to come from seed, and my SIL planted some in a pot for me, I sat it in the midst of my roses and the birds strewed the seeds, and I have had larkspur ever since.

Ann, the species lobelia is a winner. In fact I planted it first in the same place where my last delphinium funked out. It starts in mid-July with main spikes, and small secondary spikes continue to the end of August. Very blue, 3' tall, wants water, likes part shade (big roses), spreads 3' wide eventually but takes a year or two to get going. Rosettes forming in summer transplant easily. No disease and no bugs. No staking needed.

Thanks for the word on groundhogs.