Delphinium flower care and growing advice

Delphiniums are some of the most spectacular blooms you can grow in your garden and welcome inside your home. If you are planning your own, it’s important to keep these delphinium flower care tips in mind. Proper growing practices and care will ensure that your blooms look their best and that they produce the finest flowers.

When to plant

You need to prepare your garden in the autumn months and designate a spot for your delphinium flower selection during this time. You will not be planting until the spring, but preparing the soil now will ensure that your plants thrive. This means removing other plants and weeds, applying compost and keeping the area clean. Make sure that the soil offers plenty of drainage. If not, add extra materials to the soil to encourage drainage. In the spring, you need to create a hole in the ground that measures twice the diameter of the original container of the plant. The top of the root ball should be at ground level. Leave 1 to 3 inches between each plant and fill each hole to support the plant. Pat down the soil to ensure that it’s compacted enough and water the plant.

Adding support

Delphinium plants are known and loved for their height. As such, your delphinium flower selection can be used in tall arrangements. When the plant reaches 1 foot in height, it will require some extra support. Grow-through supports are ideal and examples include cages or simply placing three bamboo stakes around the plant. It will help hold them up at the base as the plant continues to grow. You also need to thin out the shoots as the plant grows in order to ensure proper air circulation.

Some sun

All plants need sunlight in order to survive. It is an important element in the process of photosynthesis. Delphiniums require 6 to 8 hours of sunlight each day. They prefer early morning or late afternoon sun. Make sure that they don’t receive too much direct sunlight or too much shade.

Watering

Like sunlight, your delphinium flower will need water too. This holds true for plants and cut stems. When watering the plant, pour approximately 1 inch of water around the base. Do not let the leaves get wet. If the soil is still moist, avoid watering since it can cause the roots to rot.

Soil types

Make sure that you maintain the soil around your delphiniums too. A balanced liquid fertilizer is a great way of doing just that. Compost can also be added before planting while mulch should be added before the winter to lock in moisture.

Pruning advice

If you don’t pick all the flowers to decorate your home, you should be prepared to prune your plants as soon as you notice the flowers starting to fall. Cut the flower spike at the base and this will encourage more blooms to grow. If you live in an area where winter temperatures kill off most plants, you should cut away all of the stems and prune once again in the spring to encourage growth.

With these essential delphinium flower care tips, you can be sure that your garden will look absolutely fabulous during the summer months. Remember, when picking these flowers for your home, you should do so early in the morning. This is when they are most thoroughly hydrated and they will last so much longer as cut flowers.