Lori's Blog

good stuff lori,,,,, we will be waiting to see them later on in the yr

Glad you have found your red delphiniums Lori

Whatever next? I suppose I should try to be open-minded when new varieties appear, but I am too traditional I suppose. I shall wait to see your red Delphiniums with interest and see if I like them....

Well delphinium cardinale is a red species so I suppose it was only a matter of time until the breeders got a large-flowered red one. I tried it once but the slugs found it before it managed to flower :-(

Someone better tell Monty Don then, cause on Friday's G.World he was planting Delphiniums in the long borders to add blue in them & then the Delphinium expert on the following piece of film specifically mentioned (coincidentally) that Delphiniums dont come in reds. We must be behind the times in the uk.

Hi Poppy... check out the seed package picture on my page... Sure hope to get at least a dozen viable seeds out of the 20, then if I can bring 10 on to hardening off... and hopefully we'll have some summer.... and the things will actually BlooM... Ah the attrition!
Perhaps the trials for the delphs at Wisley didn't produce anything viable... You know how the establishment is...it doesn't exist until they say it exists!...
I was just delighted to have the confirmation that some plant breeder or other had actually brought a red delph through trials and produced marketable quantities of seed.
Hope I can grow this plant...after all the blood, sweat and tears! lol. Great name for a red...FOX... personally I would have liked Vixen.

Lori, don't you just love it when you find something you've been looking for? Good Luck with the delphinium. I'm trying to grow a new red variety of trailing lobelia, bred by Unwins and claimed by them to be the first TRUE red variety of this annual. Time will tell.............

Well here's an update folks...I followed the package instructions to the letter...and I'm still waiting for the 20 odd seeds to germinate... so I guess it's time to take my lumps for shouting from the roof tops...it all came down to a big fizzle. time certainly told. ah well.

I would not give up hope, Lori! You've only given your seeds 20 days!. Where are you keeping your tray/pot of seeds? I've done some jiggery-pokery b4 with perennials, coz I'm impatient, and, eventually got some success. This is just a wild card, but may just work. If you can?dare, put the sown seeds in your refridgerator for c. 4 weeks, then bring back out into warmth again. This is what I've done b4 with cowslips, etc, as per instructions. It fools many perennial seeds into thinking that they have been through a "winter", and the warmth spurs them into action. I read this again earlier this year when I bought globe artichoke seeds. I put them in the fridge first for 4 weeks, then into the greenhouse. Every one is now a healthy plant with 3 pairs leaves. Apparently, I will now get several globes in year 1 (September), whereas normally it would be next year. Just a wild, last-ditch guess, on my part, hoping to save your red delphiniums. Perhaps an expert would shoot this down in flames, though. PS. I did this with seeds of apple "Discovery" my Dad gave me in January. I now have 3 seedlings (albeit out of 20), but even one would've been gr8!!

ahhhh David...you are right I've given up too quickly...I did put the seed in the refrigerator but only for a week as was instructed on pkg...perhaps my fridge is too cold and they froze or maybe I should give them another week or two...
worth a try I suppose...and if, as you say, I only get one seedling out of 20 it will be great! With the temps we are having tonight and forecast for tomorrow night I could sew them in the garden (If I was a gambler) because tonight it will be minus 2 and tomorrow night minus 1...give them a little jolt...

Oh Lori! I hope not to have night temps like that for rest of year now! glad that my thoughts were not 2 far off fthe mark. just think... you WILL show us a red delphinium, sometime. Here, it is 2.45am, and I MUST go to bed. the dreaded slab-layer arrives at 9am - and i am his "navvy" Goodnite 2 you and all!