>> Congratulations on your delphinium, Corey. I"m envious! I can get them to germinate, but can't get them to survive once I plant them out. It seems the rabbits favor them, as well.
Thanks, Linda. It is BEATIFULL. Pale blue translucent flowers darkening to purplish-blue edges ... light passes through the petals. The spike is a big, blatent cola, but the florets (?) are spaced out modestly and each is delicate and lovely.
The first few years I tried to establish delpiniums, seedlings just disapeared the same day I put them out. Then a few lasted long enough to ID slugs as the villians. Then this guy was the only seedling that made it to a size where it could compete with slugs. Its first year looked like Swiss Cheese used as a machine-gun target. But it put out one spike that year.
Now, second year, it is taller than I am with foliage maybe 2-3 feet around. I had to buy "rings" to prop it up, but now it stands straight and tall. Maybe six great big spikes, and a flurry of secondary spikes below that. It put out out a new stem 3-4 inches away from the center, so i hope to be able to divide it by the roots in another year or so.
Oddly - now slugs leave it alone! No holes. Maybe it has some repellant but the plant needs a year to be able to produce it. Or just plain old "baby leaves are tender". maybe if you could get one plant past its first year, rabbits would find something else more tasty.
Or, planting Zinnias in that same bed distracted the slugs from the Delph. Or maybe it was all the beer saucers and sparing bait.
Corey
