How and when is it better to plant perennial delphinium. Delphinium perennial: planting and care

In mid-summer, gardens and flower beds bloom with a variety of colors and shades. Tall delphinium stems strewn with small flowers stand out from afar against the background of carnations, salvia, and phlox.

They stand like candles in the middle of a flower bed, attracting attention with their wide color palette.

Types and varieties of delphinium

A beautiful flower - perennial delphinium - can grow up to 2-2.5 meters in height, the inflorescence reaches a meter in length. The variety of varieties is simply amazing - more than 400 varieties of delphinium are found in Europe, Asia, and North America, and more than 100 are known in Russia.

The wide range of colors has made the flowering plant so popular among gardeners and landscape designers - blue, blue shades, purple, white and pink varieties decorate the flower beds of private gardeners and city parks.

Not all varieties of delphinium are used in landscape design.

The most popular:
Delphinium Leroy is a heat-loving flower with a scent reminiscent of vanilla. It grows up to 1.5 meters and delights those around with snow-white, slightly greenish flowers.

Terry is a blue-violet type of delphinium that blooms from May to August; it can often be found in flower beds.

Rare-colored is a short plant, compared to other varieties, up to 75 cm high, its homeland is the Altai Territory.

Delphinium Bruno - more often found in warm regions - in India, Afghanistan, Tibet. If it is grown in middle lane, then it is necessary to cover it for the winter. The buds look like Pansies, they are blue-violet in color.

Delphinium blue – low-growing variety with blue flowers and a dark core, it loves warmth, so it needs to be put in a warm room for the winter. If you grow it from seeds, it will bloom only in the second year.

The original type of delphinium is Lamiaceae. Its flowers are blue-green on one side, and gray-gray on the other.

Belladonna is the only delphinium hybrid that has hanging “panicles” instead of sticking out “candle” inflorescences.

The variety of types and colors of perennial delphinium, as you can see for yourself by looking at the photo, is amazing; it is impossible to stop at just one - experienced flower growers and landscape designers It is recommended to choose several types for your flower garden.

Planting and caring for delphinium

Perennial delphinium is a soil-demanding crop. Therefore, choose an open, well-ventilated place with fertile, loamy soil for planting. When planting in the fall, add dolomite flour and slaked lime to the soil per 1 square meter. meter - 100 g. You can add peat and manure.

Delphinium loves the sun, but not open Sun rays- It is better to plant it in partial shade.

The planting site, as stated, should be ventilated, but not open to all winds - thin hollow stems may break.

Knowing the rules and time of how and when to plant perennial delphinium, you can get a beautiful flower garden for several years, because it can and is even recommended not to be replanted for 8-10 years: the flower does not like being disturbed often.

Seeds are sown immediately after ripening, in the fall - in October-November, immediately at open ground or in seed boxes. This is a winter planting.

In the spring, sprouts are planted 3-4 per hole, and later thinned out so that the distance between plants is at least 20-30 cm.

If autumn planting was impossible for some reason, you can plant perennial delphinium seeds in the spring, after preliminary stratification - keeping at low temperatures(3-50C) for 2 weeks.

In this case, the seeds are sown for seedlings in February-March, without deepening them into the ground. As a primer, you can use a universal peat-based primer.

The resulting perennial delphinium seedlings must be plucked carefully so as not to damage the roots and hollow stems.

Caring for delphinium involves abundant watering– 2-3 buckets for each bush if the weather is dry.

Loves plant nutrition. In the spring, organic fertilizers are added to the bushes; after 1.5 months, mineral fertilizers are added, for example Kemiru Universal.

When the buds appear, you need to spray the bushes with a superphosphate solution. The plant will bloom more actively if you water it from time to time with a solution boric acid(2 g per bucket of water).

To prevent diseases of powdery mildew, fungi, and viruses during the period when buds appear, spray the bushes with fungicides.

Thinning and pruning

After the flowers fall, the perennial delphinium is prepared for winter. All shoots are cut very low from the ground, the “stumps” are hilled up and covered with earth so that water does not get into the hollow stems.

In the second year of flowering, the delphinium bush produces new shoots, and they must be removed, otherwise the flowering will not be dense. Cut off the weaker stems, leaving 20-25 cm. It is recommended to leave no more than 5 shoots on the bush.

Delphinium propagation

We have already talked about growing from seeds. In addition, delphinium can be propagated by division and cuttings.

When dividing the bush in mid-April. It is very necessary to cut off the shoots sharp instrument so as not to damage. They are planted in holes 40*40 cm at a distance of half a meter from each other.

Before planting, add compost (1-2 buckets), superphosphate, potassium fertilizers (1 tablespoon each) to the hole. wood ash(1 glass). The root collar is buried 2-3 cm.

Cuttings are carried out from young plants - shoots of 5-8 cm are taken, cut off at the very rhizome, and treated with Kornevin.

Before rooting, cuttings should be kept warm, providing partial shade and ventilation. After 2 weeks, complex feeding is carried out, and by the end of summer the cuttings take root perfectly.

Delphinium perennial flowers are often used in landscape designs– they bloom when irises and peonies have bloomed, and attract attention with lush multi-colored hats.

They are not capricious to their neighbors, so they are planted together with other flowers - daisies, astilbe, creating multi-colored compositions in parks and gardens.

Photo of perennial delphinium

Delphinium is a variety of herbaceous plants of the ranunculaceae group, also known as spur and larkspur. There are about 500 varieties of perennial and annual plants. Annual delphiniums, which include about 50 varieties, are often separated into an adjacent group and called sokirks.

Many people think that an unblown delphinium is a flower that looks like the head of a dolphin, which is where the name comes from, but there is an opinion that the delphinium plant got its name in honor of the city of Delphi, located in Greece, where, as they say, a huge number of them grew. Be that as it may, any gardener will agree that this beautiful flower will decorate every front garden.

Delphinium flower: photo and description

Growing delphinium is a rather complicated matter that will require labor and knowledge. First of all, the planting site must be sunny at the beginning of the day and protected from drafts, as well as located in an area where moisture does not stagnate, otherwise the flower will simply die.

After landing, be sure to mulching with humus or peat. In one area, delphiniums can grow no more than 6-7 years, and Pacific varieties no more than 4-5, after which the bushes must be divided and replanted. Flowers need multiple garters to prevent their hollow stems from being broken by the wind. In addition, delphinium is often susceptible to some other species harmful insects. But if you can fulfill all the vagaries of planting a delphinium, then it will certainly reward you with long and lush flowering in early summer and another, shorter, but also beautiful, in early autumn.

Annual delphiniums

Delphiniums can be perennial or annual. Of the annual plants, the most popular varieties are Ajax delphinium and field delphinium.

Field delphinium

Tall bush, can reach up to 2 meters. Flowers in buds are double or single, white, pink, blue or lilac. The views look quite impressive:

• Frosted Sky (blue flowers with white center);
• Dark blue Qis Dark Blue;
• Soft pink Qis Rose.

The plant blooms from late spring to late summer.

Delphinium of Ajax

It is a hybrid of the Eastern and Doubtful delphinium, which received their best qualities after selection. Stem at of this variety ranging in size from 50 cm to 1.1 m, practically sessile leaves have a strong dissection, spike-shaped flowers that reach a length of 35 cm can be the most various shades: red, purple, pink, blue, white and blue. Some species have densely double inflorescences. Exist dwarf species, for example, like Dwarf Hyacinth flowered, the size of this bush is up to 25 cm with double buds in pink, purple, white and crimson shades. The plant blooms until the first frost.

Perennial delphiniums

The cultivation of perennial plants in culture began in the 19th century: breeders based on Delphinium tall and Delphinium grandiflora created the first hybrids (Delphinium belladonna, Delphinium beautiful and Delphinium Barlow) through crossing, and then the Frenchman Victor Limoine created terry varieties of perennials in lavender, blue and purple shades , called beautiful or “hybrid”, and then renamed “cultural”. Now perennial delphiniums have more than 850 colors in their color range. Among these plants, there are low-growing, medium-height and tall varieties with semi-double, simple, super-double and double flowers with a circumference of 3-10 cm.

Hybrid perennial plants are divided into groups according to their place of birth. Most Popular Scottish terry, New Zealand and Marfin terry delphiniums, which were named after the Marfino collective farm. All varieties have their own differences and advantages. Marfinskie, for example, have good resistance to frost and are highly decorative; these plants have semi-double and large flowers with contrasting and bright eyes. But it is very difficult to grow the Marfinsky variety from seeds, since the seeds do not retain varietal properties.

The New Zealand species, bred relatively recently, is characterized by large growth (up to 2.3 m), large double or semi-double buds (8-10 cm in circumference), and some varieties have corrugated petals. These hybrids are frost-resistant, disease-resistant, excellent for cutting, durable, and it is for this reason that they are now the most popular.

Tony Coakley is considered the creator of Scottish hybrid perennials. These varieties are characterized by rather dense inflorescences of double and super-double buds, often numbering more than 60 petals. With a bush size of 1.2-1.6 m the inflorescence can reach a length of 85 cm! “Scots” have a large palette of colors, are durable, easy to care for and perfectly retain varietal properties during propagation by seeds.

Growing delphinium seeds

Sowing delphinium

Delphinium can reproduce not only by seeds, but also by cuttings, buds and division, but in this article we will look at how delphinium is grown from seeds. Delphinium is sown in early March. Do not forget: when storing seeds in a warm and dry room, germination is worse. Fresh seeds must be sown immediately or stored in the refrigerator until required.

Planting seeds for seedlings

Before sowing, you need disinfect seeds: placing them in a fabric bag, lower them for 20 minutes. into a deep pink solution of manganese. Instead of manganese, you can choose a fungicide by making a solution according to the instructions. Afterwards, without removing the seeds from the bag, rinse them thoroughly warm water and fill with epin solution overnight (2 drops per 120 ml of water). Then dry the seeds so that they do not stick to each other.

Prepare the ground for seeds, for this:

1. Take humus, garden soil and peat in equal parts;
2. Pour in half of clean sand;
3. Sift.

To increase soil looseness and moisture capacity, add perlite to the soil in a ratio of 0.5 cups per 5 liters of soil composition. Then heat the mixture for 60 minutes. in a steam bath to remove fungal spores and weed seeds. Fill the containers for planting seeds with the composition and tamp it down a little.

Sowing seeds

Planting seeds happens like this:

1. Spread the seeds on the surface of the ground, immediately attaching labels with the name of the variety and time of planting.
2. Cover the seeds with about 4 mm of soil on top so that the seeds do not float up during watering, compact the top layer a little.
3. Gently pour warm water over the surface.

Close the container transparent material, and then with black film, since the seeds develop better in the dark, and place the container on the windowsill closer to the glass itself.

The best temperature for seed growth is +11-16C. To increase germination, after a few days place the container in the refrigerator or on a glassed-in loggia and don’t worry if The temperature here at night will drop to -6C. After two weeks, rearrange the container with the seeds on the windowsill. After these manipulations, shoots should appear in 1-2 weeks, and try not to miss this time so that you can immediately remove the film. Do not forget to make sure that the soil does not dry out, moisten it periodically and ventilate the container to remove condensation.

Delphinium seedlings

Healthy seedlings are strong, rich green, their cotyledons are significantly pointed. When the seedlings have several leaves, you can plant the flowers in pots of 250-350 ml and then grow them at a temperature of no more than 21C. The soil must be breathable and loose, watering must be moderate, so that a “black leg” does not form, which can lead to the death of seedlings.

Since the end of April, slowly accustom the seedlings to fresh air without removing it from the windowsill for ventilation. Let the seedlings stand in the bright sun for a short time. Seedlings are fed before transplanting to open land several times with an interval of 14 days with “Mortar” or “Agricola” so that the fertilizer does not fall on the foliage. Grown seedlings can be transplanted to open ground when the soil in the pot is completely entwined with roots - the seedlings are very easily taken out at the same time as the lump without damaging the roots.

Delphinium care

When the seedlings grow to 12-16 cm, they are fed with a mixture of mullein in the ratio of a bucket of manure to 11 buckets of water - for 6 large plants. After removing weeds and loosening the soil, the rows must be mulched with a layer of peat or humus about 3 cm. Thinning of flowers during care is done when the stems are 25-35 cm high: you need to leave 4-6 stems in a flower, this will make it possible to get more beautiful and large inflorescences.

Remove weak shoots from the inside of the plant, breaking them off near the ground. This will protect the flower from diseases and will allow air to penetrate. Cut cuttings, if they are not hollow and cut with a heel, can be rooted. The cuttings are treated with a mixture of crushed heteroauxin tablets and charcoal, buried in a mixture of peat and sand and installed under the film. After a month, the cutting gives roots, and after another half a month it is replanted, which is how propagation occurs by cuttings.

When the bush reaches half a meter in height, near the bush plant, trying not to damage root system, dig in 3 support rods up to 2 m in size, into which the bush stems are tied with ribbons.

Throughout the growing season, each bush “consumes” up to 65 liters of water. Therefore, during dry summers, it is necessary to pour several buckets of water under each plant once a week during care. When the soil dries out after watering, it is necessary to loosen it to a depth of 4-6 cm. Moreover, delphiniums require watering during the formation of inflorescences, and if heat sets in during this period, then areas without flowers form in the inflorescence. To prevent this, abundant watering and feeding with phosphorus and potash fertilizers.

Diseases and pests

At the end of summer, flowers may form powdery mildew– fungal infection, which covers the leaves with a white coating. If measures are not taken in a timely manner, the plant will die. At the first manifestations, it is necessary to spray the bush twice with foundationol or Topaz.

Often black spots form on the leaves of the delphinium, which spread from the bottom of the plant. This is black spot, it can only be combated at an early stage by spraying the leaves twice with a mixture of tetracycline, in a ratio of 1 capsule per liter of water.

Infects plants and ring spot, which covers the leaves with yellow spots. This is a viral infection, it is impossible to get rid of it, and infected bushes must be removed. But the carrier of the infection, aphids, needs to be removed: the flower should be sprayed with actellik or karbofos for prevention.

The most dangerous pests for delphinium are slugs and the delphinium fly, which lays eggs in inflorescences. The flies are removed with insecticides, and the smell of lime removes the slugs; it can be placed in containers between the plants.

Delphinium after flowering

When the leaves dry after flowering, the stems of the plant are cut off at a height of 35-45 cm from the ground and, for reliability, their tops are coated with clay. They do it so that it rains in autumn time and melt water could not get through the void to the root collar and did not contribute to the death of the flower from rotting roots. Practically all delphiniums are frost-resistant, both adult bushes and seedlings.

If the winter is snowless and frosty, then the beds with plants must be covered with straw or spruce branches. Only sharp and frequent temperature changes can destroy a delphinium, as they lead to excess moisture, which causes the roots to rot. The best way to prevent this is to pour 0.5 buckets of sand into the bottom of the hole during planting so that excess water can escape deeper through it.

You may immediately think that dealing with delphinium, especially growing this plant from seeds, is a very difficult task, but if you are not afraid of the hassle and spend a little effort and your personal time, the results will simply exceed any expectations.

Delphinium - best plant for decoration

Delphinium is loved by many gardeners for its long flowering, unpretentiousness, frost resistance and spectacular appearance, with good care blooms twice per season.

The plant can be found throughout Russia - about 100 species in the wild. Worldwide, delphinium grows primarily in Southeast Asia (especially China) and North America, with several species native to the highlands of Africa.

Attention: all parts of the delphinium are poisonous; when working with it (dividing the rhizome, replanting), you should be careful and wash your hands thoroughly after work.

Delphinium - description

Delphinium belongs to the buttercup family, there are about 450 species in the genus, among which there are perennial and annual herbaceous plants.

In gardening, as a rule, hybrids are grown that are obtained by crossing certain species: tall delphinium Delphinium elatum, large-flowered delphinium Delphinium grandiflora and Barlow's delphinium Delphinium Barlowii.

All of them have split leaves, slightly different in shape - three, five or seven-parted, with large segments and almost round in outline; some have narrow thin leaf segments and leaves that look like lace, openwork.

The leaf segments have a smooth edge or are serrated, in some species they are wide open, in others they are wide, overlapping each other.

The height of the bushes is from 40 – 50 cm for dwarf varieties, up to 2 meters for large ones.

The root system is powerful, the bush has a well-branched rhizome with many dense adventitious roots. Over the years, the central part of the rhizome dies off, and the side shoots grow in width and form independent plants and wide curtains.

The flower consists of five colored petal-shaped sepals; the upper sepal has a hollow funnel-shaped appendage - a spur, which contains two nectaries. Spur dimensions different types from 5 – 10 mm to 2 – 4 cm. In some varieties, eyes (staminodes) are preserved in the middle of the flowers: several small petals, contrasting in color with the sepals (a characteristic color for delphinium species) and serving as a take-off platform for pollinating insects. And delphiniums are pollinated mainly by bumblebees.

Delphinium flowers are collected in a pyramidal inflorescence on a long peduncle:

• blue
• white
• purple
• pink
• lilac simple
• semi-double or terry
• There are two-color varieties

The flowering of delphiniums begins depending on the latitude - from May or June and lasts for a month.

Name

Presumably Delphinium received its botanical name due to the similarity of the unopened flower to the shape of the head and body of a dolphin.

However, romantic people prefer the legend of a talented young man from Ancient Hellas, who sculpted a sculpture of his dead lover from stone and breathed life into it. The gods considered this to be insolence and punished him by turning him into a dolphin. Once a girl came to the seashore and saw a dolphin in the waves; he swam up to her and presented her with a blue delphinium flower.

The second name of the flower is more popular - Larkspur, literally “living bone” - it was born thanks to medicinal properties a plant that helps with the healing of wounds and fractures (in the form of lotions).

Also, sometimes the plant is called the old-fashioned Spurnik - the name is derived from the shape of the outgrowth-appendage on the upper sepal, which looks like a cavalry spur.

Delphinium varieties

The huge variety of hybrid delphiniums has led to the creation of a classification accepted in the international gardening community:

1. Elatum Group (Elatum Gruppe) - hybrids in parents of which the tall delphinium (D. elatum), the most popular and accessible in Russia - perennial, medium-sized, about 150 - 180 cm tall, dense inflorescences, with blue-blue flowers various shades, varieties: “Ariel”, “Malvine”, “Persival”, etc. Subgroup of New Zealand hybrids - included in the group of Elatum hybrids, tall varieties, about 160 - 200 cm. Feature- very dense peduncles, double flowers.
2. Belladonna Gruppe - hybrids from large-flowered delphiniums (D. grandiflora) and labiate (D. cheilanthum), low varieties, about 80 - 120 cm, loose inflorescences (flowers are not densely arranged): “Atlantis”, “Casa Blanca” , “Capri”, “Lamartine”, “Piccolo”, etc.
3. Pacific hybrids (Pacific Gruppe) are tall varieties, about 150 - 160 cm with dense large inflorescences, many semi-double and double: “Astolat”, “Black Knight”, “Blue Bird”, “Galahad”, “King Arthur”, etc. They are grown as annuals or biennials, these varieties have lower winter hardiness.
4. Group Marfinsky hybrids - popular varieties of domestic selection - N.I. Malyutin (Moscow region, state farm “Marfino”). Very tall plants of various colors, with seed propagation varietal characteristics are lost. Popular varieties: “Lilac Spiral”, “Daughter of Winter”, “Blue Lace”, “Morpheus”, “Pink Sunset”, etc.
5. Scottish hybrids (Scotland Gruppe) are fairly tall perennial plants (mostly from 120 cm to 150 cm, inflorescence 60 - 80 cm), appeared relatively recently, selection was aimed, among other things, at lengthening the shelf life of cut inflorescences. Delphiniums last in vases for a really long time. F1 hybrids generally have dense or double flowers, retain varietal characteristics well during seed propagation, and are frost-resistant. Popular varieties: Moon Light, Sweet Sensation, Depest Pink, Morning Sunrise, Blueberry Pie, Crystal Delight, etc.

Planting delphinium

Delphinium grows best on light loams, but when replanting old bushes or planting cuttings, you need to add peat and humus to the planting holes, about a bucket per 1 square meter. m flower beds. If the soil on the site is acidic, a month before planting or in the fall you need to add slaked lime or dolomite flour.

Plants can remain in one place for up to 8 years without replanting.

Most varieties, with the exception of dwarf varieties, need staking; the appearance is especially spoiled by sudden wind or rain - the inflorescences fall from the weight of the water and from gusts of wind.

• Delphiniums grow well in fertile, well-drained soil, in full sun or very light shade, with shelter from strong winds. However, the decorative appearance of the foliage and the duration of flowering are better if the flowers are under shade in the afternoon.
• Soil acidity is closer to neutral pH 6.0 - 7.0, but delphinium can grow in a wider range of soil acidity.
• Larkspur is frost-resistant, able to withstand frosts down to minus 40°, but there are varieties that are more tender and heat-loving. In any case, you shouldn’t risk it and cover your flower beds with spruce branches in the fall.
• Delphiniums do not tolerate stagnation of water (waterlogging) in the soil.

To plant delphinium bushes in prepared flower beds with well-drained and structured soil, you need to make holes and be sure to add fertilizer to the soil: 1 liter of humus, 60-70 g of superphosphate per 1 square meter. m. Then the planting site is filled with peat or humus.

What to plant next to delphinium? After the end of flowering, delphiniums quickly lose their decorative properties - the leaves partially dry out, so it is better to plant decorative foliage plants nearby: cereals, hostas, heucheras, etc.

Delphinium - care

Delphinium care consists of:

• regular fertilizing with fertilizers
• pruning and thinning of bushes
• garter of adult plants
• disease control

Delphiniums are fed when they begin to grow in the spring. Use manure diluted 1:10 - 10 liters per 3 sq.m. or 16:16:16 - 70 grams per 1 sq.m. The same fertilizing is done every summer month.

To reduce the impact of pathogenic organisms, it is recommended in the spring after the first fertilizing to spill the soil with a solution of biological products or.

After flowering, the inflorescences are cut off. For the winter, the bush is pruned sharp to a stump height of 15 cm. In this case, the cut stems are filled with plasticine, clay, i.e. material that prevents water from entering the cut stem to prevent rotting. In the spring, after the growth of the stems reaches 30 cm, weak shoots are removed, as well as those growing inward. It is optimal to leave 5 – 6 stems per bush.

After the bushes have grown to a height of half a meter, they are tied with tape to pegs or, preferably, thin rods, of which at least two are needed for each bush. The height of the twigs should be at least one and a half meters for tall varieties. In addition, the delphinium bush is tied up again when it reaches a height of one meter. If you tie up the delphinium incorrectly, then during strong winds the stems may fall, especially during rain, because the inflorescences gain moisture and become heavy. Narrow ropes can cut through the thin stem of a flower.

Delphiniums are often damaged by powdery mildew. Among the pests, the plant is usually attacked by slugs and the delphinium fly.

To prevent powdery mildew, bushes are sprayed with iodine or Topaz solution. This procedure is performed after all the leaves have blossomed, but before the buds form.

It is used against the delphinium fly. To combat slugs, loosen the soil and weed the weeds, then mulch with peat.

In dry times, delphinium needs watering, especially during flowering. We must ensure that the soil under the bushes does not dry out, but waterlogging is also dangerous.

Delphinium propagation

Growing delphinium from seeds

Delphinium seeds are available in flower shops and online stores, however, not all plants grown from seeds retain varietal characteristics; you need to clarify this point when purchasing.

To grow delphinium from seeds, stratification is required - the seed must lie in the cold for at least 2 - 3 months, then the shoots will be friendly and strong, especially for “old” seeds.

Seeds that have been stored for more than a year significantly lose their viability.

There are two options, the first is to put the seeds for stratification in the refrigerator, at 2° - 4°, the more time you have, the better. Therefore, if you order seeds by mail, do it in the fall.

The second option is to sow larkspur seeds in the fall in a separate “children’s” bed in the garden. In any case, the seeds should not be kept warm room temperature, otherwise they will lose their germination within a few months. Even if you are not going to sow, store it in the refrigerator.

Before sowing in the beds in the fall, there is no need to soak the seeds, but when sowing seedlings at the end of March or April, it is better to soak them for 2 - 3 days.

Sowing seeds in boxes or deep (8 - 10 cm) bowls filled with nutritious soil: garden soil, humus and large river sand, taken in equal parts.

There is no need to plant the seeds in the ground, just scatter them over the surface and moisten them with water from a spray bottle. Then knock on the wall of the pot, the seeds themselves will settle into the ground to the desired depth (ideally it should be 2 - 3 mm).

Crops should be placed in a cool place to germinate at a temperature of 12° - 15°, moistened with a sprayer as soon as the soil dries. Do not keep the boxes with seeds warm under normal home conditions, when the temperature is 20° and above and the seedlings grow weak and unsuitable for growing in open ground. Place the crops on a loggia or balcony, or you can place them on a window on the landing.

If the seeds are sown in the beds in the fall, they begin to germinate without any preliminary preparation at temperatures of 8° and above, mass shoots will appear when the temperature reaches about 15°.

Once the seeds have sprouted, you need to make sure they have enough light to grow. Water moderately, without overdrying or excess dampness. When the seedlings have 1 - 2 pairs of true leaves, they need to be planted into separate seedling cups or plastic jars 12 - 15 cm high (250 ml), at the bottom of which 5 - 6 holes must be made for water drainage.

Delphinium seedlings are very susceptible to root rot (blackleg), so avoid dampness and you can water the crops with phytosporin once every two weeks.

Reproduction of delphinium by dividing the bush

Vegetative propagation of delphinium - by dividing the bush or cuttings - allows you to preserve all varietal characteristics of the young bush.

Most safe way- This is propagation by cuttings. When dividing a bush, there is a high probability of disease and plant death due to the hollow structure of the stems and rhizomes.

You can divide the bushes starting from 3 - 4 summer age. Division is carried out in the spring, with the beginning of the growing season, the appearance of the first green leaves - dig up the bush with a pitchfork, trying not to damage the rhizome, and carefully separate several parts of the rhizome with one or two shoots.

Sprinkle the cutting areas near the divisions with birch charcoal powder and plant them in a new place in the flowerbed. To organize flower work on dividing bushes, choose warm sunny days, without rain or cold nights, then the plants will take root well.

Propagation by cuttings

Cuttings are taken in spring from young shoots. The length of the cuttings is 10–15 cm, and the cutting should cover 3 cm of the rhizome. The cuttings are planted for a month in a shaded place and sprayed twice a day. The soil should be slightly moist at all times. After a month, the rooted cuttings can be planted in a flower bed.

From a distance, delphinium flowers resemble lupins: the same tall flower stalks, strewn with bright petals, grow on the bushes. However, upon closer examination, the differences become obvious: while lupins have flowers that resemble unopened boxes, delphiniums have flowers that are completely open, like mallows. Despite the height and apparent fragility of the stems, the flower stalks are very stable.

Delphinium (Delphinium) also called liveliness or spur. The plant belongs to the Buttercup family (Ranunculaceae).

There is a cute legend about the origin of delphinium. A Greek young man decided to depict his beloved in stone. But the gods did not like this, and they turned him into a dolphin, forced to live in the sea. The girl waited for her beloved on the shore every evening. One day a dolphin swam up to her and threw it at her feet. amazing flower, which she named after her beloved delphinium. Delphinium is referred to as garden flower And medicinal plant still in treatises Ancient Greece, and in European gardens, cultivated modern varieties of delphiniums appeared only in the 19th century.

The gracefulness of the inflorescence, the elegance of the leaves, as well as color palette make this plant simply irresistible.

Today there are over 300 species of delphinium. Any gardener will be able to find among them the one he likes best. If you prefer to plant annual crops, plant delphinium, biennials, also delphinium, perennials, again delphinium. The main thing is to choose the right variety, not to confuse an annual crop with a perennial one, and also decide which one color scheme you prefer, since delphiniums come in white, blue, purple, lilac, blue (all different shades), pink and even red.

On this page you will learn what delphinium flowers look like and how to care for them in the garden.

What does a delphinium flower look like: photo and description of plant species and varieties

Delphinium (spur)- one of the most favorite garden plants with amazingly beautiful and rare flowers.

Perennial frost-resistant and drought-resistant powerful plant up to 200 cm high, can consist of 10-15 stems. The flowers are semi-double, large, bright. Inflorescences up to 7 cm in diameter are collected in giant (up to 70–80 cm) racemes of various colors (white, blue, purple, pink, etc.). The plant is moderately moisture-loving; Grows well in sunny places protected from the wind.

Of the perennial delphiniums, the hybrid delphinium is most often bred. We can recommend several groups of varieties of perennial hybrids, which differ in height, size and structure of the inflorescence, as well as their color and degree of terry.

The most popular is the Pacific group, which consists of 12 varieties. All plants in this group are bush plants. Their height reaches 2 m. The inflorescences are large and powerful. The flowers can be either double or semi-double and come in a variety of shades of blue, violet, pink and lilac.

Delphiniums of this group do not require replanting for 6 years, then they are replanted with seeds, cuttings or rejuvenated by dividing the bush.

The next group is Marfin hybrids.

Their varieties are taller (up to 220 cm). They have pyramidal or wide pyramidal inflorescences, which can contain up to 80 flowers. The leaves, like those of the previous group, are 3-, 5- or 7-parted, with more or less narrow lobes and light or dark in color (depending on the color of the inflorescence). If you purchased a delphinium in the form of a cutting or a cutting (part of a bush) and do not know what color the inflorescence will be, keep in mind: plants with light leaves also have light inflorescences, and vice versa - the darker the leaves, the darker the inflorescence.

The belladonna group differs in appearance from the previous ones.

These plants are much lower in height and do not grow more than 1.5 m. The plants are more spreading and have few-flowered inflorescences. The flowers are usually not double. The color scheme is usually light blue or blue, but sometimes the flowers are white.

The most undemanding and least labor-intensive to grow is the hybrid delphinium.

Best flowering can be achieved by growing it in well-fertilized soils and well-lit areas. To grow this plant, tillage must be very deep, since delphinium has a powerful root system. This plant does not like sandy soils or wetlands. On loose soils filled with peat, delphinium lives longer than on chernozems and loams.

Delphiniums are amazingly beautiful plants.

There are varieties with flowers of a pure tone, and there are iridescent ones, transitioning from one to another. Very often in the center of the flower there is an eye of a different color, in particular black or white, which gives it a peculiar charm. Semi-double and terry varieties are especially elegant. Of greatest interest to gardeners are varieties from the Pacific group of cultivated spurs.

Check out the photos and descriptions of the flowers of the most beautiful varieties of delphiniums.

Delphinium is a cultivated perennial, variety Bellamosum.

Plant height – 100 cm. Inflorescences are dark blue, bright. Propagated by seeds and division

When describing the delphinium plant, it is worth noting the large-flowered perennial Pink Butterfly.

Attracts attention with pyramidal inflorescences 40 cm high. Flowers, like butterflies, are delicate, airy, pink. Propagated by seeds and dividing the bush every 3-4 years. Blooms July and August.

The White Butterfly variety has the same characteristics as the Pink Butterfly, with snow-white inflorescences.

From Dutch varieties attracts attention perennial Pacific mixture with a height of 180 cm. Used for single and group plantings and for cutting. Seeds are sown in March for seedlings. Sow in open ground in May. The place is sunny, the soil is fertile. In autumn, delphiniums are pruned at the root. It blooms in July, if cut after flowering, it blooms again in September.

Delphinium varieties are especially popular in gardens:

"Black Knight" - dark purple

"King Arthur" - purple with a white eye

"Blue Jay" - blue with a dark eye

“Spring Snow” – lilac-white with a white eye

“Pink Sunset” – lilac-pink with a dark eye

"Vespers" - bluish-pink-purple

“Astolat” – pink, raspberry-pink, rose-red with a dark eye

“Pink Sensation” – pink iridescent

“Lilac spiral” – lilac with a white eye

“Million” – bright blue

"Blue Tit" - dark blue

“Naina” – lilac-blue with a white eye

"Summer Sky" – blue with a white eye

“Lyudmila” – blue with a white eye

“Blue lace” – blue with a white eye

"Blue Encore" - pale blue

“Daughter of Winter” – white with a black eye

"Sir Galahad" - pure white

“Butterball” – cream

Look at photos of delphiniums of different varieties:

The next section of the article is devoted to how to care for delphinium on the site.

How to plant delphinium in the soil in the garden and how to care for it (with video)

An important condition for growing perennial delphiniums is to provide the plants with loamy, humus-rich, moderately moist soil with a close to neutral reaction (pH 5.5–6). The landing site should be open, sunny, but shaded at midday. Tall varieties (about 2–2.5 m) require garters to supports. These plants are not planted as single plants - they are planted in separate clumps according to a 60x60 cm pattern. Long, up to 50–100 cm, inflorescences can contain up to 100 flowers in a raceme. Inflorescences can be cone-shaped, cylindrical, pyramidal, oval, highly branched (lobed).

Flowers irregular shape with an elongated spur (hence the name – spur).

In varietal hybrids, the flowers have a diameter of 3–4 cm. The beautiful palmately dissected leaves of delphiniums, like phloxes, often dry out prematurely on the lower part of the stems, which quickly becomes ugly. Therefore, plants that remain decorative all summer should be planted in front of delphiniums.

All delphiniums look beautiful in group plantings or among other flowers in the center of flower beds. But in this case it is better to use lower varieties (1–1.5 m). For these delphinium flowers, the planting pattern is 45x45 cm. They are also suitable for the background in mixborders or borders. Delphiniums go well with phlox, rudbeckia, and lupins. There are also short dwarfs, only 50–70 cm tall, for which an area of ​​30x30 cm is enough.

Delphiniums usually bloom for about 2-3 weeks in July. If you cut the flower stalks to the soil level (without touching the rosette of leaves!) at the moment of wilting of most of the flowers, you can cause re-blooming at the end of August, although not so abundantly.

You should know that repeated flowering leads to a weakening of the plant, and it does not bloom as luxuriantly the next year.

Delphiniums take a lot out of the soil mineral elements, so the soil before planting should be well filled with organic matter and mineral fertilizers. Planting holes must be prepared in advance. They are made quite deep, since the delphinium has a tap root that goes to a considerable depth. This is why plants do not tolerate transplants well, especially at an older age.

Planting pit should have dimensions of 40×40×40 cm. Add 2 buckets of rotted compost, a glass of ash (or half a glass dolomite flour or lime), a tablespoon of any mineral fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. It is best to prepare the hole in the spring and plant the plant in August.

When planting, the stems are cut at a height of 10 cm. The plant is buried 1–2 cm. Before frost sets in, the seedlings will have time to take root well. Delphiniums are heat-loving plants and can freeze out in harsh winters, so the planted section should be covered with spruce branches in the fall. In the spring, after the snow melts, the spruce branches should be removed.

This video shows how to plant delphinium in open ground:

For good flowering in the first year in the spring, when the plants begin to grow and reach 10 cm, you should leave 3 stems for strong plants, and only 1 for weak ones.

After planting, when caring for delphiniums in open ground, you should not leave more than 3-4 shoots of flower stalks on the bush. In the spring, when the stems begin to grow, leave only the strongest ones, cut the rest at the root. By the way, they can be used as cuttings for propagation. All later shoots should also be removed.

After the frosts have passed, the plants are fed with mineral fertilizer. The best solution for this purpose is “Solution” from the Buysky chemical plant or flower fertilizer from the same plant, but in general you can use any other fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. One tablespoon per 10 liters of water is enough. Fertilizer is poured 1 liter at the root of each plant. If the growing foliage has a pale green color, then you should additionally feed it with an infusion of weeds or manure.

After planting, when caring for delphiniums during the appearance of buds, they again give mineral fertilizer, but this time 3 tablespoons per 10 liters of water. After the end of flowering, you should feed the delphinium with phosphorus and potassium fertilizers, a tablespoon of each per 10 liters of water (or autumn fertilizer from the Buysky plant, 2 tablespoons per 10 liters of water), use a solution of half a liter per bush.

Delphiniums are not big fans of nitrogen, so don't overdo it with manure or weed infusions. They are potassium lovers, so they respond well to the addition of ash or potassium fertilizing (only without chlorine!). They also need boron. When growing delphiniums in open ground, the easiest way is to pollinate the plants on the leaves a couple of times per season with boric acid powder or water them with a solution of boric acid (2 g per 10 liters of water). If, after flowering ends, you cut off only the inflorescences, leaving the flower stalks with leaves until they dry completely, then the rhizomes will grow significantly and provide lush flowering next year.

After landing garden delphiniums When caring for plants in the fall, when all the foliage has withered, the entire above-ground part is cut off to the soil level. But many gardeners do not make such short pruning, but leave stumps 20 cm high, but at the same time they must cover the cuts with clay, since the delphinium has a hollow stem and water entering it through the cut causes rotting of the rhizome.

Just in case, you can pour a bucket of peat onto the plant to protect delphiniums from death in the harsh winter. In the spring, when the ground thaws, the peat is raked away from the center of the tillering and raked around. It will serve as mulch material under the plant. If the plant was healthy, then it does not need to be cut.

The first frosts will “break” the stems, and they will fall to the soil, covering the rhizome. This will delay the first snow that falls. Then peat will not be needed. In the spring, put the plant residues into compost.

Often in books it is recommended to cut the delphinium at a height of 30–40 cm in the fall. This cannot be done, since it has a tubular stem, and water will get into the funnel during the autumn rains, which will cause the rhizome to rot, or, as amateur flower growers do, it must be covered cuts with clay, as mentioned above.

After sowing, with careful care, delphinium can grow in one place for up to 10 years. It develops well and blooms better with regular (once a week) watering and fertilizing. Watering is especially important during the budding period. To prevent your plant from getting powdery mildew, when watering, water should not get on the leaves.

If you like to grow cut flowers, then this is what you need, because all types and varieties of delphiniums are excellent cut flowers for up to two weeks.

Delphiniums, generally speaking, are not perennials, they are more like juveniles because they require division every three years, otherwise you may suddenly lose them. In them, like phloxes, the middle of the bush becomes rotten. When growing delphinium flowers, this center should be cut out. The transplant can be done in May, but in central Russia it is better in August. You need to dig up a bush, divide it into separate parts, cutting out the middle, and plant it. All cuts must be well covered with ash. If you want to return the delphinium to its old place, then change the soil.

Conditions for growing delphinium: caring for flowers after sowing

In dry weather, delphiniums are watered abundantly, as the plants suffer greatly from high temperatures and especially from dry air. Each plant needs about 100 liters of water during the growing season. When caring, the soil is loosened to a depth of no more than 5 cm, so as not to damage the small roots that grow at a great distance from the base of the bush. During growing season Fertilizers are added to the soil for delphiniums in the garden several times.

The first feeding is carried out in April: For 10 liters of water, dilute 1 tablespoon of urea, potassium sulfate, superphosphate, consume 1 - 2 liters of solution per adult bush.

The second feeding when caring for delphinium flowers is done at the beginning of flowering: dilute 1 liter of mushy mullein and 1 tablespoon of Agricola-7 per 10 liters of water, spend 2 liters per 1 bush. Delphinium can be fed with nitrophoska (2 tablespoons per 10 liters of water).

During care when growing delphiniums in the summer, it is advisable to tie up the plants, although many gardeners claim that the flower stalks already successfully withstand even the strongest winds.

Delphinium blooms in June - early July. With timely removal of fading inflorescences, flowering continues throughout the summer. With good care, the plant can bloom a second time at the end of summer.

Diseases and pests of delphiniums, measures to combat them

To prevent diseases, delphinium can be sprayed regularly (once every 2-3 weeks) with the “Healthy Garden” preparation. The most common disease is powdery mildew. Instead of the “Healthy Garden”, in the spring, when the stems grow, you can spray the plantings with a 1% solution of any preparation containing copper (Bordeaux mixture, copper sulfate, copper oxychloride) or the preparation “Epin-extra”, which will also protect the plants during sudden frosts. In addition, in the fall after cutting (or directly on the plant), repeat spraying.

When delphinium diseases appear, you can use “Zircon” to combat them, which, among other things, also increases the size of the flower and the intensity of its color.

Of the pests, delphinium is attacked by flies, cutworms, and spider mites. When regularly sprayed with “Healthy Garden”, pests do not touch the plants. But if you don’t have this drug, then spray it once every three weeks with Fitoverm or IskraBio, starting from the moment the cherry blossoms. By the way, the self-defense of any plants is enhanced by regular feeding (once every 2-3 weeks) with organic fertilizer “Gumi” or microbial fertilizer “Extrasol”.

Among the pests, delphiniums can be attacked by the delphinium fly. The fly does not like peat, and therefore, when mulching the soil with peat, it will fly around delphiniums. Sometimes the ends of the shoots are colonized by aphids. “Perimor” works well against it, as well as preventive spring spraying“Healthy garden” (2-3 times in May-June). The most common disease is powdery mildew in humid summers (don't water on the leaves and it won't happen). But the plant cannot be protected from rain, so you will have to use blue spraying (Bordeaux mixture, Hom, copper sulfate) or use Zircon, Bravo, soda ash(3 tablespoons per 10 liters of water).

Sometimes black spot or bacterial wilt appears. In both cases, “Fitosporin” or “Zircon” helps well.

Below is how to propagate delphiniums in the garden.

Propagation of delphiniums by cuttings, dividing the bush and seeds

Delphiniums are propagated by seeds, dividing the bush and cuttings.

You can divide 3-4 year old bushes into 5-6 parts. Each division should have 2-3 renewal buds and a good root system. Then the planted plant will bloom the next year. But, as mentioned above, delphinium is difficult to take root, so sometimes flowering is delayed for a year. To help the plant, systematically feed it with “Fitosporin” plus “Gumi”. If you have Extrasol, then add a tablespoon to every 10 liters of solution. When propagating delphinium by dividing the bush, spray with “Zircon” in the first year of planting (every two weeks) or use “Healthy Garden”.

Cuttings are cut in the spring, when they grow to 5–10 cm, at the very base of the root collar. They should not have a hollow part of the stem at the bottom. The lower ends of the cuttings should be pollinated with ash and Kornevin. Use a stick to make vertical holes in the cuttings and insert the cuttings into them.

Cover with water bottles. When propagating delphinium by cuttings, you need to ensure that the soil does not dry out. As soon as new leaves appear, the bottles can be removed. Regularly water and spray with Ferovit together with Zircon. In the fall, rooted cuttings can be planted in place.

Varietal delphiniums reproduce mainly by dividing rhizomes, as well as by seeds. After a year, the seeds lose their viability. Seeds are sown in March in boxes on the window. Shoots appear after 20 days without picking. When caring for delphiniums from seeds, planting them in a permanent place is carried out in early May.

With such early spring sowing, the plants gain strength and bloom by the end of summer, forming one small inflorescence. Plants are planted shallow, otherwise they will rot. Real flowering begins in the second year and can occur twice - in June and August.

How to propagate delphinium by seeds: planting and care when growing seedlings

During seed propagation, parental properties are not transmitted, so you yourself will become a breeder and may well obtain hitherto unknown varieties. Freshly collected seeds (they ripen in August, for this you need to leave the faded clusters on the stems) are immediately sown in the greenhouse. Shoots appear in the fall and can freeze in the spring, so they should be covered with spruce branches for the winter. To avoid fussing with this, it is better to sow the seeds right before winter (late November). In the spring, seedlings appear; when growing delphiniums, seedlings should be planted 2-3 plants into one container or thinned out according to a 10x10 cm pattern and planted in place in August according to a 40x40 cm pattern.

The seedlings may bloom next year. If you sow seeds for seedlings at home, they should first be stratified (cooled). To do this, containers with sown seeds must be buried in the snow (on a balcony or loggia) or placed in the refrigerator for a week.

Then expose it to light in a warm room. There is a nuance. Since delphinium seeds are very small, they are not sprinkled with soil when sowing. The moistened soil is compacted, the seeds are scattered over the surface and covered with film until shoots appear. Or, when sowing seedlings at home in March, snow is added to the soil surface in containers and the seeds are sown on the snow. Once melted, it will draw the seeds halfway into the soil.

To grow delphinium seedlings from seeds, place the container in a plastic bag and tie it. The seedlings are watered through a syringe, the needle of which is inserted into the ground. When growing flowers from seeds, when the delphiniums grow and begin to fall to one side, you need to rake the soil to them with a match.

When the frosts have passed, when caring for delphiniums, the seedlings can be moved either to a schoolhouse until next spring, or directly to their place. But here it is important not to let the weeds clog them or the soil to dry out.

The combination of delphinium with other flowers in the garden (with photo)

Delphiniums look good in a wide variety of decorative plantings. Groups combined from varieties with flowers of different colors are especially effective. Delphiniums are most successfully combined with lilies, dahlias and park roses with flowers of white, yellow and pink colors.

Varieties with light blue flowers look very beautiful against the background of coniferous trees, and varieties with white flowers look very beautiful in front of shrubs such as barberry, jasmine and red-leaved dwarf maple. Blue delphiniums go well with white and pink aquilegias, while chrysanthemums, daisies and Haage lychnis can be planted in the foreground.

Delphiniums are used in various flower beds, including in the center of the flower bed and on the lawn in separate groups. It is good to place them in the background of the site along the fence. Delphinium bushes perfectly decorate fences, low buildings, and tree plantings.

They provide excellent cutting material: delphinium flowers placed in water last up to 10 days or more.

Here you can see the photo best combinations delphinium with other flowers:

Choosing plants for designer planting in flower beds summer cottages and parks, gardeners often stop at delphinium.

It is distinguished by its ease of care and external beauty, which will allow you to grow delphinium in a variety of conditions.

A little history

Delphinium is also called spur and larkspur. The latter is often found in colloquial speech. There are several versions of the appearance of this name.

Some scientists talk about the resemblance of an unblown flower to a dolphin, others note that in Ancient Greece, a huge number of delphiniums were found in the city of Delphi, where the temple of Apollo of Delphi was located and the Delphic oracle lived. In Russia, the word “spur” comes from the similarity of the outgrowth-appendage with a cavalry spur.

The name larkspur has a reference to the meaning of the plant in folk medicine: Flower tincture was used to heal wounds.

Interesting: in Russia the name "delphinium" is usually used in fiction.

In total, about 450 species are known, of which 100 species grow in Russia, among them the most popular are the perennial high larkspur and the annual field larkspur. The flower is common in northern countries and the African tropics; many species grow in Asia, mainly in China.

It is worth noting that the indicated number of species is not exact: due to the huge number of varieties and the difficulty in isolating common features some authors identify up to 1.2 thousand flower varieties. Other species are so few in number that they are endangered.

general information

Delphinium belongs to the Buttercup family. Its sizes are quite varied: some dwarf varieties do not grow more than 10 cm, others giant species reach 2.5-3 meters.

The stem is hollow inside, the leaves are large, dark green, sharp at the ends. The flowers consist of 5 petals, one of which has the above-mentioned thorn. Petals can grow in one or several rows; they can be simple or double.

The inflorescence itself consists of several dozen flowers: in primitive species the number does not exceed 15 pieces, in more developed species it reaches 80 pieces. In this case, the length of the inflorescence can reach a meter in length. Thanks to the heavy brushes in which they are collected small flowers, the spur looks very beautiful and noble.

It is especially worth noting the color variety of delphinium: despite the fact that blue and cyan shades are most often found in nature, in gardens you can see purple, lilac, white and even pink, red or black flowers. You can see the variety of species and choose the most suitable option in the photo.

In the wild, delphinium mainly grows in the mountains and easily tolerates temperatures as low as -20 degrees. Other varieties, on the contrary, are heat-resistant and do not require dryness. Cultivated varieties have all the advantages of their wild counterparts.

Application

Spurs are mainly used in ornamental gardening: the Royal Horticultural Society has been breeding it since the 17th century. Some varieties were also used as dyes.

Some species have also proven themselves in medicine as analgesics and antimicrobial agents. They are also used as relaxants to increase muscle tone in nervous diseases: Parkinson's disease, traumatic paralysis, multiple sclerosis.

It is important to know: It must be remembered that spur is a poisonous plant, which in no case should be used independently.

In folk recipes, the flower is used for female, genitourinary or venereal diseases, digestive diseases, liver enlargement, jaundice, and inflammation or pus of the eyes.

Popular types

Delphinium Leroy

There are different annual and perennial varieties, however, most gardeners prefer the latter, since they do not require annual “updating”. Among the most popular are spurs with unusual flower colors:

1. Delphinium "Leroy". A heat-loving plant with a sweetish odor and a greenish tint.
2. Delphinium "Astolat". It has large double and semi-double pink flowers.
3. Terry delphinium. Blooms from late spring to late summer. Thanks to selective breeding, black, red and yellow shades can be found.
4. Kashmir delphinium. It has purple flowers with a black center.
5. Delphinium "King Arthur". The owner of dark blue flowers with a white center.
6. Lamiaceae delphinium. The plant has an unusual color: its petals have blue-green and bluish shades.
7. Delphinium "Bruno". It has blue-violet petals, but does not tolerate frost well.
8. Holostem delphinium. A low, no more than a meter in height, variety with red-orange flowers. Extremely thermophilic, it is best to grow it in pots and put it in a warm place for the winter.

Also worth noting are the varieties “Waltz”, “Ocean” and “Butterfly”, the hybrid “Belladonna”, the giant “ Summer sky", "Blue Lace", snow-white "Galahad", light pink "Caroline". Their descriptions are easy to find on garden center websites.

Low-growing varieties are no less popular:

1. "Naples". Plant height up to 1.2 meters with large purple flowers;
2. Blue delphinium. A low, up to a meter, plant that is best grown in pots. Flowers have a rich blue tint with a black center. Extremely heat-loving, it must be removed for the winter;
3. Rare delphinium. Grows up to 75 cm, blooms in the second half of summer, flowers are quite rare;
4. Shortspur delphinium. This is a frost-resistant plant up to 30 cm high. Distributed in Alaska, the Arctic and northern Russia.

It is worth noting the pyramidal delphinium - due to its unpretentiousness, the variety is extremely popular and widespread. It can withstand temperatures down to 20 degrees below zero, and its roots can take root even on poor rocky soils. Flowering occurs from July to September. The delphinium “Sweethearts” is no less in demand, as well as all New Zealand varieties with excellent health and unpretentiousness.

Landing

Despite its unpretentiousness, it is best to plant the flower in a neutral, fertile soil. Acidic soils are not suitable: if the selected area is like this, it is worth adding a little lime or dolomite flour in the fall to remove excess acid. It will also be useful to add manure or.

Spurs love warmth and sunlight, but there may be a problem with the wind: due to thin leaves the plant may break due to strong gusts. You will need to tie the stems or plant them next to the shelter.

Note: trees and bushes are not suitable as shelter - they will pull over everything nutrients, which will negatively affect the growth of delphinium.

In the fall, it is necessary to dig up the soil and fertilize it with mineral fertilizers. Planting of sprouts must be done in April-May, when the frosts have passed. If the choice fell on frost-resistant varieties, you can plant them earlier. Typically, sprouts with several leaves are planted in open ground.

Let's consider the procedure for planting delphinium in open ground:

1. It is necessary to dig a hole in the ground with a depth and diameter of about 40-50 cm, the distance between the holes should be about 60-70 cm;
2. You need to mix half a bucket of compost, 2 tablespoons complex fertilizer and a glass of ash with earth and fill the hole completely;
3. In the resulting soil you need to make a small depression, plant a seedling in it and compact the soil, then water it.

If the seedlings are small and weak, it is necessary to cover them with cut tops plastic bottles with covers removed. This will help create a greenhouse effect. After 2-3 weeks, when the delphinium takes root and begins to grow, the bottles are removed.

Basic care

Despite the fact that the spur is not particularly whimsical, it requires compliance with certain conditions that will allow you to get an excellent result:

1. Delphinium requires regular but moderate watering 1-2 times a week, 2-3 buckets of water per mature plant. If the summer is rainy, watering can be eliminated altogether.
2. Delphinium will require 3 feedings over the summer. At the end of April, for example, bucket solution is needed cow dung in 10 buckets of water - this will help enhance growth and development. At the beginning of summer, when the buds begin to appear, you will need potassium and phosphate fertilizers with a small amount of nitrogen. The last time fertilizing is necessary is after the flowers fall off. It is necessary to use potassium and phosphorus mixtures without nitrogen content - this will help achieve seed ripening.
3. It is necessary to thin out the delphinium when the plant reaches 20-30 cm. Leave 3-5 stems on one bush, removing the rest. This will allow you to form a beautiful large-flowered cap. The excess is cut off near the ground.

Gardener's advice: Timely thinning will not only improve the appearance of the bush, but will also help remove infected or weak areas.

1. To prevent the delphinium from breaking, it is necessary to provide a support for it: it is installed when the flower reaches half a meter in height. It is bandaged after reaching a height of one meter. The height of the support should exceed the flower itself and be no shorter than 1.8-2 meters.
2. If seeds are not needed, after flowering has ended, it is worth cutting the stems at a height of about 30 cm, without waiting for the seeds to form. After pruning, to prevent water from getting into the hollow stems, the cut is lubricated with clay. You can also leave the delphinium without pruning and just collect the seeds.

Wintering

Spur is a frost-resistant plant and easily survives mild winters without any special tricks.

Before the onset of autumn rains, the cut should be lubricated with clay so that ingress of water does not cause rot.

For the winter, the beds should be covered with spruce branches or straw. Temperature changes and snow melting are much more dangerous for the plant, as the rhizomes may be damaged.

To avoid this, you should add sand or broken stone to the hole before planting: this will help remove excess moisture.

Low plants planted in pots just need to be brought into a cool room protected from snow.

Reproduction

You can grow it in different ways:

1. Using seeds. After collection, the seeds retain excellent germination properties for 4 years, but after that they are practically useless. Before planting, you need to place the seeds in a cold place for several weeks, for example, in the vegetable section of the refrigerator - this will help harden the seeds. Then I plant them in a container using a standard peat soil. Delphinium seeds do not need to be deeply buried; just sprinkle them lightly with soil and water them with a spray bottle. Glass must be placed on the container to create a greenhouse effect.

After a few days, when the seeds germinate and sprouts appear, they can be thinned out. At the beginning of May they can be planted in open ground.

1. Using division. Carry out after the second flowering. In the fall, after pruning, the bush is carefully dug up and divided into 2 parts, the cut areas are sprinkled with ash or coal and buried again at a distance from each other.
2. Using cuttings. The procedure has its own subtleties and is mainly carried out in mid-spring or autumn, when the delphinium is not blooming. To do this, cut off part of the cutting (about 15 cm) with a piece of root (about 2-3 cm) with a sharp tool. It is transplanted into a separate hole or tub and watered abundantly until the spur takes root.

You may also be interested in an article about caring for dracaena at home:

Good to know: after division, the flower may weaken and become sick, and bacteria can penetrate through the cut - for this it is recommended to sprinkle the cut area with crushed coal.

The last option is most preferable for several reasons:

1. Being part of the bush, the cutting is accustomed to the terrain and adapts to it more easily;
2. The main bush practically does not suffer from division if it is protected from infection;
3. In this way, you can easily grow delphinium in one place, constantly renewing the bushes.

To ensure that reproduction goes smoothly, you should watch a video in advance about how this is done.

Diseases and pests

It is easier to prevent any problems than to treat them. Delphinium has few enemies, timely care and prevention will help get rid of them. Among the plant's enemies are:

1. Fungal diseases: powdery mildew and ramularia leaves. To prevent it, it is necessary to monitor the absence of excess water and carry out spraying.

1. Bacteriological diseases: black and ring spots. If affected leaves and branches are found, they must be immediately removed and the leaves sprayed.
2. Pests: among insects, aphids, delphinium flies and various caterpillars that eat leaves and seeds cause particular harm. To combat them it is necessary to use insecticides.

Despite some difficulties in care, delphinium remains quite popular and in demand in gardening. Thanks to large and bright colors Spurs are often found in the landscape of parks and summer cottages. Before purchasing seeds, you should look at the pictures in advance to choose the option you like best.

See the following video for the best varieties to plant in your garden: