Delphinium

[recruiterg]

Has anyone ever grown Delphinium from seed? Any tips and/or techniques? Do you need to cold stratify?

My neighbor has a Delphinium plant that produces beautiful 5 foot tall flowers and I reached over the fence and helped myself to a few of the seeds after the flowers dried up. Hehehe...

[remy]

Hi,
I winter sow them in pop bottles and have had good success. In case you don't know what I'm talking about, I have pics here of how to make the pop bottle. The last pic says remove the cap because I forgot about that when I took the photos. The cap needs to be off so moisture can get in and it won't get too hot on warm days. The soil needs to be potting mix without fertilizer and 3" deep. Some people use milk jugs so there's pic of one of those. I personally don't like them as much.
http://s65.photobucket.com/albums/h2...sown%20Blooms/
Remy

[ddsack]

I have delphiniums self-seed in the garden every year (I'm lax about dead-heading) and end up with more baby plants than I know what to do with, with no special care. I think I remember reading that they do need a cold spell for germination. If you are in a hurry to get them started, put them (some of them anyway)in the freezer for a week or two, then try starting them in flats and transplant into the garden in the fall before it freezes. Or you could just seed them back into the garden and mark the spot so you can watch for them. Delphiniums are very hardy and live for many years before the plants give out.

[remy]

DD's post reminded me that I forgot to mention why I use the WSing pop bottle method. I mulch heavy where I grow my delphiniums so I don't get the reseeding like I want with them. I wish I had them reseeding like she does.
Remy