Delphinium advice please!

[selfraising]

Hello
For the past two years I have tried to sow Delphinium pacific giants with no results. I'm finding it really frustrating as I love delphiniums but don't want to spend the money buying plants if I can grow from seed. Last year I sowed them twice, at the beginning of March and no germination, then again at the end of March, still no germination. Any advice as to how to sow these successfully would be great!

[Flummery]

Are you sowing directly in the garden or indoors in pots? I had no luck at all trying to sow direct. You'll also need to watch out for slugs when the plants are small - slugs LOVE delphiniums!

[selfraising]

Hi Flummery
No I sowed them indoors. Slugs haven't even had a chance to eat because I just can't get them to germinate.

[greendean]

hi

thought this may be helpful. i grow my delphiniums from seed in my unheated greenhouse about april time. i sow them in a pot in multi purpose compost with a little vermiculite on top to cover seed. label and keep an eye on them. as the article suggests not too wet. i dont cover them with glass or plastic just pop them on a shelf and wait. dont know if i'm just lucky. i never had much success with cuttings though!

The usual failures in germinating delphinium's seed are these:

1) Keeping the soil too wet.
2) Sowing the seed too deeply. Seeds should only be covered with approximately 1/8" of soil.
3) Trying to germinate old seed. Delphinium seed loses its vitality after one year.

Try the Pacific Giants variety; they are reputedly the easiest to germinate.

Many seedsmen recommend a period of pre-chilling for some varieties this greatly aids germination. Sow the seeds in pots or in a tray in September to April. After sowing, seal the container in a polythene bag and place on the bottom shelf of a fridge for 3 weeks. Check regularly to monitor germination. Then, move to an optimum temperature of about 15C (59F), keeping the surface of the compost moist but not waterlogged.

SOWING: You can start new delphinium plants from seed at almost any time. From April to September the seeds can be sown directly into the garden about 1/8 in. (3mm) deep. The seeds can be started early during the winter months of January, February and early March, indoors. Plants started from seed during the winter will generally flower a little the first year. Those started outdoors, do not flower until the following year. As the seedlings grow they must be thinned out to 9 in. (23cm) apart to give them the space to grow healthy and well.

hope this helps. keep trying

[selfraising]

Thanks very much Greendean. I will try again following your suggestions, perhaps I sowed them too deep. Do the ones you've sown flower the same year? As I'm relatively new to this gardening hobby & most of my experience is with veg, I haven't even tried having a go at cuttings yet, wouldn't know where to start!!

[greendean]

most of them do flower the same year though it is better to pinch off the flower spike in the first year to build up strength in the roots ready for a better display next year. it seems a shame but in the long term it's better.

try growing some larkspur aswell if you want flowers the same year. these are annual delphiniums and can fill the spot until your plants are ready to go in.

as said before watch them slugs.

most perennials are easy to grow from seed and attract bee's etc to pollinate your veg. perfect partners

[selfraising]

most of them do flower the same year though it is better to pinch off the flower spike in the first year to build up strength in the roots ready for a better display next year. it seems a shame but in the long term it's better.

try growing some larkspur aswell if you want flowers the same year. these are annual delphiniums and can fill the spot until your plants are ready to go in.

as said before watch them slugs.

most perennials are easy to grow from seed and attract bee's etc to pollinate your veg. perfect partners

Thanks for all the advice, very useful. As to the slugs, I'm going to try slug wool this year, see if that works. It's supposed to still work even if it rains, unlike the pellets, which I'm not to keen on anyway because of the frogs in my pond. I'm am hoping to attract some bumblebees. I've already got some borage and want to sow some wild flowers in amongst the veg as an extra 'attraction'