GROWING DELPHINIUMS FROM SEED 
Delphiniums are easy to grow from seed, 
one of the easiest among plants. Any one may 
do it without special trouble, barring a sudden 
rise in temperature above eighty degrees dur¬ 
ing germination, or damping off. 
Damping off may be due to late afternoon 
watering which chills the young plants or 
bursting seeds, to lack of air, very essential 
to hybrid delphiniums, or to some condition of 
the soil, though the latter is not a common 
cause. Dusting the seeds with red copper ox¬ 
ide has been found to be the best preventive 
for this, and Rootone, also, is recommended. 
Temperatures of between fifty and seventy 
degrees are most favorable for the germina¬ 
tion of delphinium seeds. 
They may be sown in greenhouse, cold 
frame, or the open ground, in any month from 
January to December, depending on your own 
demands and conditions. But the easiest way 
is to sow the seeds, as soon as ripe, in the 
open ground. It is not only the easiest but the 
plants are more vigorous. 
Fill a deep box or make a bed outside of 
screened leaf mold and clean medium sand, or 
sand and peat moss, mixed together. Level 
and water down and next day, sow your seeds, 
either in rows or broadcast, but thickly, for 
delphinium seeds germinate much better when 
thickly sown. Cover, not more than one-eighth 
inch, with sand. Do not put peat moss over 
the seeds. It packs over them too much. 
Water, and stretch over the bed black mos¬ 
quito netting, to furnish some shade and keep 
out the birds. Remove this when watering 
and water only in the mornings, not at night 
or late afternoon. Keep the seed bed moist 
but not sopping wet. 
In about ten days, they start coming up, and 
continue for about three weeks. Not all col¬ 
ors nor all seeds germinate at the same time, 
especially, in the case of mixtures, any more 
than all hybrid delphiniums bloom at the 
same time. Some bloom early and some very 
much later in the season. 
Water moderately, keep weeded, and re¬ 
move netting when the plants have about four 
leaves. If possible, leave them in the seed bed 
over winter. In cold climates, a frame may 
be built around the bed to keep off the wind, 
and about an inch of medium sand scattered 
over it, and they arc set for the winter. 
In the spring, when the plants have about 
six leaves, transplant into rows, watering in 
each plant as you go. Fertilize between the 
rows with high grade commercial fertilizei, 
bone meal, or well rotted manure, always re¬ 
membering that animal fertilizers have been 
found to promote crown rot, and should not 
be aTowed too close to the crowns. If your 
ground is heavy, put in plenty of coarse sand, 
for the most important single requirement of 
hybrid delphiniums is Good Drainage. They 
like moisture but never to stand on the crowns. 
I use a mulch of partly rotted leaves between 
the rows but peat moss or straw may also be 
used. Water moderately. Heavy watering 
gives too much foliage and not enough bloom. 
These young plants should grow and bloom 
in the late summer and fall, bringing you a 
range of color from the brightest blues, deep¬ 
est wine colors, violets, blended shades, and 
the latest pastel pinks. And you may have 
white like snowflakes. 
In the fall, when the blooming is over, cut 
the spikes to the ground, clear off the old 
foliage, and put a trowel of fine charcoal and 
a couple of trowels of sand on the crowns and 
do not worry about them until spring. If you 
have slugs, bait for them with a good Meta 
bait. You might, also, dig raw bone meal in 
around the plants. This is slow in action but 
is highly recommended. 
You may transplant in the fall or early 
spring. If in the spring, the best time is when 
the growth is about four inches along. At this 
time, if your soil is deficient in lime, it is a 
good practice to scatter ground oyster shell 
or ground limestone between the rows. This 
releases essential elements in the soil and 
makes fine strong delphiniums. 
Do not forget that hybrid delphiniums are 
native to the cool climates of the world, and 
if your region is unfavorable, it is best to 
grow them as annuals or biennials, and start 
a new crop every year. In the Columbia River 
Valley, they like light shade; farther north, 
very little, and farther south, a great deal 
more. 
"WHEELER CROFT" 
AGNES A. WHEELER • PLANT BREEDER 
Delphiniums • Japanese Iris • Violas 
6123 S. E. 18 th Ave., PORTLAND, ORE 
SWEENEY. STRAUB S DIMM. HORTICULTURAL PRINTERS. PORTLAND. OREGON 
