THE CULTURE OF OUR'| 
Seed ... Delphiniums can easily be grown 
from seed which can be sown practically any 
time of the year, according to the climatic con- 
ditions, equipment available or time of flow- 
ering desired. Under California conditions, for 
early spring flowers, sow from June to Sep- 
tember; for midsummer blooms, December to 
January; and for fall blooms, February to 
April.In regions with severe winters, the early 
summer sowing, from June to July, is recom- 
mended, so that the little plants are well es- 
tablished before the winter sets in. Otherwise, 
the most practical time to sow is early spring. 
Seed can be kept in good condition for sev- 
eral years if kept in air-tight containers in a 
refrigerator. In fact, it is practicable even with 
fresh seed to place it between two moist blot- 
ting papers and leave it directly under the 
freezing compartment of the refrigerator for 
at least a week to induce higher germination. 
For best results, sow in flats in a mixture of 
two-thirds coarse leaf mold and one-third 
loam, covering slightly with the same mix- 
. ture, and moisten thoroughly. To prevent 
evaporation, cover the flats with newspaper 
and glass until germination takes place. Im- 
mediately after the young plants begin to ap- 
pear, both the glass and the newspaper should 
be taken off; however, the plants should be 
kept shaded and kept moist constantly. 
Germination .. . If the seeds do not ger- 
minate 100 per cent and the flats are exposed 
to strong light immediately after the first few 
17 

plants have appeared, the rest may not ger- 
minate at all. Artificial heat can be used for 
germination in early spring and it will give 
far better results than the natural heat in 
summer. To get the best results in germina- 
tion, bottom heat is necessary, with a cool 
temperature overhead. This is well supplied 
under glass in early spring; however, in sum- 
mer, due to hot weather conditions, it is 
usually the opposite and this is why many 
people have failures even with the very fresh- 
est seed. At temperatures of 85 degrees Fah- 
renheit and up, the germination is often very 
poor and what germinates stands a very good 
chance of being simply cooked. To prevent 
this, after the seeds are sown in flats, place 
them on the floor in a coolroomorshed, where 
they can be kept dark for the first ten days, 
until germination takes place. Then give light 
and fresh air, but keep them well protected 
against any drying out. We have repeatedly 
checked on seeds which were sown under 
greenhouse conditions in summer or the cool 
shed method or a well-shaded lath house, and 
the results in each case were from 20 to 50 
per cent better under lath house conditions 
than under the greenhouse conditions. Under 
slow, cool germination practically every seed 
will gradually come up. Under quick, hot con- 
ditions only a few will germinate, the rest re- 
maining dormant in the soil. Dampening off 
will occur only if flats are kept too wet in the 
greenhouse, without proper ventilation. 


