How many have had a gorgeous delphinium bloom take first prize, and maybe “Best Spike in the Show,” and have prided themselves that they had a beautiful plant only to have that plant Winter-kill or pass out from some other delphinium ill?
Such disappointments are keenly felt, more so because they are unnecessary. For example, did you know you can insure your prize specimens?
I have just finished insuring 77 of my 1949 selections, so I know I will have them in 1950 and after that.
Crown Cuttings Of Your Specimens
The process is simple. Just take crown cuttings of your specimens and put them in the sand, vermiculite, or a mixture of one-half sand and one-half peat.
If you take one cutting, you increase your chances of having that specimen next year by 100%.
If you take eight cuttings, you increase your chances by 800%. That is all that insurance entails: an increase in the chances of not having a loss.
What You Need
All you need for this kind of insurance policy on your delphiniums are the following:
- 1st — A flat of clean sand, vermiculite, or one-half sand and one-half peat.
- 2nd — A box of Rootone and some Fermate or other fungicide.
- 3rd — A shady place to put the propagating box.
Method of Cuttings
When the growth, either 1st growth in March or the second growth in July and August, is about 3” to 6” inches high, take a pocket knife and scrape the dirt away from the crown so you can see the point of juncture.
Then cut off the stem and try to get a small sliver or section of the crown with the cutting.
Dust or dip the cut end of the cutting into Rootone. I usually mix a small quantity of Fermate with the Rootone.
Insert the cutting in the propagating box by opening up a hole with the knife or with the fingers. Firm it with your fingers and put in a descriptive label with the date. That is all there is to it.
Water the cuttings morning and night when and as needed to keep them moderately moist. Then, in six weeks, you can dig them out and find them well-rooted.
Pot the rooted cuttings in a 4”-inch pot, and, after about 4 to 6 weeks, they can be planted in the garden, or if late in the season, they should be carried over the Winter in the cold frame.
Advantage Of This Method
The advantage of this method is that the cuttings will be an exact reproduction of the parent plant, whereas seeds from the same plant may have 100 variations.
I deplore the many delphinium strains that are on the market. There are practically no delphinium varieties available in the U. S. and Canada, such as are available in England.
In 1948 I planted seeds from some 50 so-called strains and varieties. I now have some 700 plants, no two of them alike.
Division of Crown: Another Method
Another method I like especially well is the division of the crown. When the new growth is 3” to 6” inches high, either in the Spring or in July and August, it is the time for dividing the crown.
Dig up the whole plant. Dislodge what dirt will come off. Then wash all the dirt off either in a bucket of water or with the hose.
I usually do this on the compost pile and get some use out of the surplus water.
Someone will rise to say I will get diseases in the compost pile, but this is not so because it is futile to divide anything but healthy plants.
Crown Construction
When the roots are clean, lay the plant on a bench, barn, or garage floor.
A little study of the crown construction will inform you just where to enter the point of a sharp knife to either cut or split it into sections, each section of which must have one or more growing tips or eyes plus some roots.
Depending on size, I usually get from four to nine rooted divisions out of a clump.
After dusting with Fermate, or any other good fungicide, these divisions are potted in 4”-inch pots in good sifted compost soil, using no fertilizer.
They are then watered and labeled, and the pots are plunged into the ground up to their rim in a shady spot.
Overcoming The Shock of Division
After a week to 10 days, when they have overcome the shock of division and do not wilt, more sun is allowed until they can stand full sun.
In a month to 6 weeks, they are ready for their permanent places in the garden.
If the divisions are made late in the season, it is better to carry them over the Winter in the cold frame and plant out in the spring.
Growing Shoots
It will be found when making the divisions that the growing shoots are brittle, and some will be broken off despite care.
These need not be wasted. Instead, use them as cuttings and insert them in the propagating box.
Possibly if everyone were to use the above two suggested methods of insuring their prize delphinium specimens, some of the advantages of delphinium varieties as against delphinium strains would become apparent.
44659 by Carl Grant Wilson