The Garden Magazine, April, 1921 
111 
THE INFINITE VARIATION OF FLOWER-SPIKE EVER FASCINATING TO THE GROWER 
No i. Very dark, richly colored sort. No. 2. Tall, slender type, 7-8 ft. No. 3. Very large, full type (side buds wilted during photo- 
graphic exposure). No. 4. Striking opal-colored sort with dark centre. No. 5. Large, brilliant variety; 2 in. florets, 6-7 ft. stalk 
some years this beautiful variety was propagated entirely by 
cuttings or divisions. Later a seed-bearing strain was produced 
which has since gone by that name. These are now known to 
most gardeners by their loosely arranged, single, sky blue, 
white-centred flowers, and their general sprawling habit. One 
of the most beautiful flowers in my latest plantirrg was a silvery 
blue with a faint lavender reflex, and a large cream-white 
centre, the whole flower being larger than most Belladonnas 
and having a distinctly grayish effect at a distance. 
No. 3 is the leaf of the new white, which closely resembles 
the above except in its color, which is pure white except for yel- 
low touches on the centre petals. The difference in leaf be- 
tween No. 2 and 3 extends to the plant as well, the latter being 
more compact and .stiffer, with less tendency to fall over. This 
white, by far the best white 1 have ever seen, is usually listed 
in the catalogues as Delphinium Moerheimei;and, as it produces 
only an occasional seed, must be grown from cuttings or divi- 
sions. 
Another ivory white sort, sometimes called yellow, is that 
catalogued as Delphinium sulphureum. Indeed the effect 
before the flowers fully open is decidedly yellow. T his plant 
grows only three or four feet tall and has a leaf quite distinctive 
in that its surface is shiny as if it had been waxed or varnished. 
In my latest venture a double, ivory White of similar character 
appeared. 
The photographs of the individual flower stalks give some idea 
of the usual forms. A very tall growing plant, I have found, 
almost invariably develops a long, slender flower spike like that 
shown in No. 2; while that of a lower growing specimen is likely 
to be plumper. No. 5 shows a loose, more open formation in 
which the spiral arrangement of the florets on the main stalk is 
plainly observable. 
A ND now a word concerning the propagation and culture of 
these beautiful flowering plants. They may be started 
from seed, cuttings, or divisions. The best available strain of 
seed should be obtained from a specialist, if possible; and a 
large number of plants carried over into blooming time, which is 
the second season, that the best may be selected for permanent 
planting. The Chinese Delphinium, so far as 1 know, is the only 
species in the perennial class that can be grown to flower the first 
season. 
1 prefer spring to summer sowing of Perennials, finding the 
seedlings of hot weather sowings in need of more care. Autumn 
seems the most satisfactory time for making divisions. 
Cuttings are readily and easily rooted. For these, the new 
shoots which follow the main crop of bloom are taken. A very 
simple method and one usually successful is to insert the 
stump of the cutting in the soil of a moist, somewhat shaded 
part of the garden and place over it an inverted glass fruit jar. 
The jar is left undisturbed until the following spring. Upon 
its removal one usually finds a sturdy, well rooted plant where 
the cutting was inserted the previous September. 
If the plants are set in good garden soil, a top dressing of 
stable manure applied about them in the fall and forked in the 
following spring will furnish sufficient nourishment. In some 
