WHEELER CROF 
I NTO these Delphiniums have gone twelve 
years of patient work, of waiting, of hopes, 
of dreams. Years of selection and cross polli¬ 
nation by hand. Years of study of the laws of 
inheritance. Back of these were the long 
years of study of biology and botany, of the 
exacting methods of science. 
The Wrexhams, the Hoodacres, the Blackmore and 
Langdon strains, the Lyondels, went into these 
Delphiniums. Years of selection and crosses by 
hand has brought a strain—the Wheeler Croft— 
that has certain characteristics of its own: It has 
great vigor of growth with many spikes of stiff 
wiry stalks that are not easily broken. Some grow 
around four feet and others seven and nine feet in 
height. The flower spikes are from two feet to 
fifty-eight inches of bloom, carrying laterals from 
twenty-four to forty-three inches long, with as 
many as twenty to a stalk. The flowers are from 
two and a half to three and a half inches across. 
They are evenly placed on the stalk so that each 
has its own space, making a solid spike that is not 
crowded or bunchy anywhere. The flowers open all 
at one time or nearly so and open flat, with the 
centers set therein like jewels. The individual stems 
average between two and seven inches in length at 
the base of the spike. 
There is also the Ranunculus type, which is 
fluffier, sometimes with a full rose like center. 
The laterals are a great asset. They greatly pro¬ 
long the blooming season and make the loveliest 
and most graceful sprays for cut flowers. The flow¬ 
ers are almost as large as those on the main spike. 
And the colors: Summer Sky, Pastel, Opal, Cobalt 
Blue, New Blue, Tapestry Blue, Navy Blue, Gentian 
Blue, Crater Lake Blue, Alice Blue, Blue Batik, 
Blue Lake. 
Rainbow, Sunrise, Violet, Orchid, Cornflower 
Blue, Venetian Nights, Tokay, Desert Twilight, 
Amethyst, Painter’s Dream, Mountain Shadows, 
Purple Shadows, Royal Purple, Royal Velvet, Claret, 
Shot Silk, and Burgundy. 
CULTURE: Good loose soil, plenty of lime or 
ground shell and wood ashes, good commercial fer¬ 
tilizer or well-rotted cow manure, and a mulch. 1 
use a heavy mulch of rotted leaves over the ground 
after it has been spaded, with shell or lime to coun¬ 
teract the acidity. This tends to hold the moisture 
and keep the ground from baking. I have a heavy 
clay soil into which has gone much sand, leaf mold, 
bone meal, and a reasonalde amount of high grade 
commercial fertilizer. My Delphiniums are not heav¬ 
ily fertilized. It is my wish to grow them under 
average conditions so that you can grow them in 
your garden as I grow them in mine. 
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