408 
The Garden Magazine, August, 1924 
largest flowered one, too, a good two inches across, and this with¬ 
out any special treatment nor for that matter quite the cultiva¬ 
tion it had deserved. There was the darkest Delphinium I 
had ever seen, in which the inner petals were an intense purple 
and the outer row a blue, almost indigo in tone. In all my sub¬ 
sequent seed sowing 1 have never since obtained exactly this 
pink nor the dark colored variety. 
Seedlings grown from the seed of 
the dark one have sometimes pro¬ 
duced pale blues. 1 have obtained 
two quite as dark as the 
parent but with notice¬ 
able differences. In the 
more striking of the two 
the petals were arranged 
much the same but all 
alike in color, purple 
edged with blue. It is a 
fascinating experiment, 
and at present about the 
only way of obtaining a really dis¬ 
tinctive and satisfactory collection 
of Delphiniums. Grow a thousand 
or fifteen hundred seedlings from 
four or five of the best seed strains 
obtainable and select the best 
twenty for planting in your garden. 
Increase your stock as needed 
from divisions or cuttings and 
from further seed sowing, using 
seed of the best of these individ¬ 
uals in the hope of further im¬ 
provement. 
I T IS surprising how easily cut¬ 
tings will root at times. The best 
are probably made from fresh 
shoots. I take usually those ap¬ 
pearing after the first blooming 
period. In a friend’s garden last 
summer I was surprised to see that 
a number of old stalks that had 
been cut away after blooming and 
used as temporary markers for 
some early August planted bulbs 
had by late September formed good 
root systems. Usually one puts 
cuttings in sand under glass and in 
a shady place. Divisions may be 
made in spring or fall. 
Several serious hybridizers are at 
work with Delphiniums. 11 is to be 
hoped that the results of their ef¬ 
forts will soon become available in 
the shape of named varieties of 
proven merit. A few named sorts 
are already obtainable, but in gen¬ 
eral the only way to procure 
satisfactory stock is to proceed 
somewhat as outlined above. 
Another result which every Lark¬ 
spur lover hopes to see the hybridizer accomplish is the develop¬ 
ment of a blight resisting strain. The fact that some individuals 
seem less susceptible than others gives ground for such a hope. 
I HAVE been asked to say something definite concerning 
“blacks” prevention. 1 am afraid there is nothing very defi¬ 
nite to be said at present. If there were any absolutely sure pre¬ 
ventive known, we should have heard of it. I have tried 
various recipes with about the same results. Some seasons the 
blight leaves my plants almost entirely alone and again a small 
percentage will be attacked. Very bad cases are consigned to the 
brush fire. Bordeaux mixture is perhaps the fungicide most easily 
obtainable, as all drug stores carry it. The ammoniacal copper 
carbonate preparation accomplishes as much and with less dis¬ 
coloration of the foliage and does not clog up the sprayer. The 
much advertised “dusts” I have not tried. In localities where 
the blight is very troublesome I 
would suggest using one of these 
for spraying the foliage and the 
mixture of air slaked lime and 
tobacco water, to which 
sulphur is sometimes 
added, about the roots 
of the plant. The for¬ 
mula for this and the 
ammoniacal copper car- 
bonate solution are 
given at the end of this 
article. 
[Has lime any direct 
influence on “blacks”? Sev¬ 
eral readers have reported 
good results from using lime- 
sulphur; and the best Larkspurs 
we recall having ever seen grew in 
a limestone region.— Ed.] 
M OST of us make the mistake 
of allowing too many stalks 
to develop on each plant. Four or 
five is, I suppose, about the right 
number. If one is particularly in¬ 
terested in size of bloom and great 
length of spike for exhibition pur¬ 
poses, one stalk to a plant and extra 
fertilization and cultivation is far 
more likely to produce the desired 
result. That is, I believe, the secret 
of the wonderful thirty-six inch 
stalks of the prize-winning exhibit 
of the Chelsea, England, Show of 
last summer. 
A number of people will wish to 
ask where seed are best obtained. 
To such 1 would suggest first the 
best strain of your favorite seeds¬ 
man and then some of the highly 
praised strains of one or two of the 
American Delphinium specialists. 
Also send to foreign specialists, if 
you like, for their first quality 
seeds. This done you may rest as¬ 
sured you have the very best start 
possible. That was exactly my own 
procedure, and my Delphiniums 
are a proof of the efficacy of the 
method. But remember that Lark¬ 
spur seed more than a year old is 
practically worthless. So order 
early and sow without delay. 
Ammoniacal Copper Carbonate: Copper carbonate, i ounce; ammonia, enough 
to dissolve the copper. Use 26° ammonia [a little less than a pound will suffice] 
and dilute with 7 to 8 volumes of water. Then gradually add the necessary 
amount to the copper carbonate until all is dissolved. It is best treated in large 
bottles, and in them it will keep indefinitely. Dilute with 9 or 10 gallons of water. 
For the same purposes as bordeaux mixture. 
Lime-Tobacco Mixture: Use five pounds of air slaked lime. Mix to a white, 
wash with boiling water. Boil two pounds of refuse tobacco in one gallon of 
water for one half hour. Strain and add liquid to whitewash. Add enough 
water to make five gallons. To use, apply one cupful of mixture to root of 
plant every ten days for three applications. 
[Two or three handfuls of sulphur is sometimes added to the above.] 
FLOWER-SPIKES OF LARKSPUR OVER 2 FT. LONG 
Though Mr. Rea's garden at Plattsburg, (N. Y.) is fairly far 
north (in fact only some thirty or so miles from the Canadian 
border) where the winters are apt to be both long and severe, 
his success with Delphiniums is quite extraordinary, again prov¬ 
ing the old adage that “where there’s a will, there’s a way” 
