Delphinium New Zealand cultivation, care. Growing a New Zealand delphinium in a summer cottage

The New Zealand delphinium is familiar to almost all gardeners. This plant is striking in its beauty and luxury. The flower is often used in landscape design. With its help, flower beds are made, decorative flowerpots are made. The article will tell about what a culture is, what types and varieties of it are most common, and how to grow a New Zealand delphinium.

The New Zealand delphinium is distinguished by high shoots and large inflorescences that cover almost the entire stem. The diameter of the opened bud is 9-10 centimeters. The brush can reach a height of 70 centimeters. Flowers are simple, double and semi-double. It all depends on the cultivar. The classic look has 5 petals. There is a spur on the top petal. Because of what the plant is often called spur. There are pink, white, violet, red, cornflower blue and purple specimens. There are also varieties of black, burgundy and brown tone. The middle is usually white, black or striped. The bud is green in color. But after full disclosure, it changes color. A faint greenish stripe is visible in the middle.

The height of the bush is about 2 meters. The bottom of the culture is abundantly covered with greenery. The foliage is dissected, painted in a bright green tone. In one place, the perennial delphinium grows from 5 to 8 years. The bush blooms at the end of June and pleases with its attractiveness until the beginning of August. After cutting off faded brushes, re-flowering is observed, which begins in August or September.

In the wild, you can meet the New Zealand terry delphinium in America and Europe. The culture is widespread in Africa and Asia. The plant quickly adapts to any conditions. The main thing is that the climate is relatively warm and the soil is light. So it is realistic to grow this crop in almost all regions of the country.

Crop varieties and their characteristics

Today, thanks to the work of breeders on the shelves flower shops different varieties of delphinium are presented. So without any problems you can choose the most suitable variety for decoration personal plot, winter garden or greenhouses. There are many types of this culture.
The most common hybrids of New Zealand delphiniums, which are distinguished by larger inflorescences. Hybrid forms are often chosen for cultivation not only by professional gardeners, but also by beginners.

Delphinium New Zealand giant is considered the standard of quality. After all, it has the following characteristics:

1. High frost resistance.
2. Long flowering.
3. Unpretentiousness in content.
4. Decorative.
5. Durability. At good care the flower will delight with its beauty for about 10 years.
6. Having immunity to many diseases.
7. The ability to use when creating bouquet compositions.

When choosing a spur variety, it makes sense for a beginner to pay attention to the following varieties:

But professional flower growers most often choose such varieties of New Zealand delphiniums as Sunny Skies (bud soft blue with lilac shade), Royal Aspirations (cornflower blue), Deep Sweethearts (dark pink flowers with a bright white or striped eye). The multi-colored Morning Lights, snow-white Green Twist and lilac Misty Mauves are also popular.

How to grow a New Zealand delphinium in a summer cottage?

To on garden plot the delphinium plant flaunted, it must be properly planted and taken care of in a certain way. It is important to understand how a flower reproduces, when to sow delphiniums for seedlings, what conditions to create for good growth. Beginners, due to lack of knowledge and experience, sometimes have difficulty growing spurs.

Flower propagation methods

Such luxury flower, like the delphinium, is unpretentious. It tolerates seasonal frosts with firmness, does not require systematic care. Does not need shelter for the winter. It is propagated by dividing the bush. The event takes place in the spring. The bush is divided into parts, each of which should have a pair of healthy branches. The cut parts are immediately planted on permanent place growth. But this method is rarely used by gardeners. Much more popular is the method of growing from seeds. You can buy seed in any specialized store.

Sowing delphinium for seedlings

Delphinium Homeland: Northern Hemisphere Plant type: herbaceous annual or perennial Family: Ranunculaceae Illumination: sunny place, penumbra

Soil: neutral, sandy loamy, loamy Watering: regular Temperature conditions: heat-loving Flowering: June-July Height: up to 2 m

Propagation: seeds, division, cuttings

New Zealand delphinium hybrids

In New Zealand, breeder Terry Dowdeswell has been very fruitful in recent decades. He created a luxurious series of delphinium hybrids, which he called New Millennium Highbrides. These flowers have the highest decorative qualities, winter-hardy and durable.

Terry Dowdeswell's delphiniums have a very large flowers, collected in dense brushes of pure and beautiful colors, semi-double or real terry, with 4-6 rows of petals.

Seed Storage Secrets

The most important thing is that delphinium seeds are stored correctly. When stored in room conditions they lose their germination by the end of the first year.

Seeds should be stored at low but positive temperatures. So the best place for this - in the refrigerator.

Sowing seeds of New Zealand delphiniums

I choose a container for sowing seeds with a height of 8-10 cm (it is better to be able to irrigate through a pallet), fill it with a soil mixture (leaf, turf, river sand -2: 1: 1), water it with a solution

By the way

Seeds of delphiniums with dark-colored flowers germinate longer than those with light flowers.

Fitosporina-M, let the soil air out a little and scatter the seeds on the surface. For 1 cm2 - about 3-4 seeds.

I sprinkle the seeds with a layer of 3 mm sifted earth, slam, gently moisten and cover with a film.

seedlings

I put the crops in the refrigerator for stratification for 2 weeks. Seed germination different varieties individual and ranges from 50% to 80%. After stratification, I put the crops on the windowsill (18 ~ 20 ° C), I air them daily.

Seedlings appear in about 2 weeks.

Seedling care

So that the seedlings are not affected by the black leg, I water through the pan.

After about 6 weeks, I start picking, which I spend in separate cups; I make sure that when planting, do not fill up the growing point. For the first 5 days, I put the plants away from the sun.

disembarkation

In late May - early June, I plant my seedlings in a permanent place (usually in groups of 3-5 pieces). Best suited for them is a sunny place or ventilated partial shade, without stagnant water.

Before planting, I dig the soil well, add humus, sand, leafy soil to it. In hot and dry weather, delphiniums require abundant watering.

Feeding the delphinium

With a shoot height of 10-15 cm, I spend the first top dressing (organic or mineral fertilizers). During the budding period and at the beginning of flowering, I feed with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.

When renewal buds are laid, it is advisable to feed fertilizers without nitrogen.

New Zealand plant hybrids are tall (up to 200 cm) and need to be tied to a support.

Protection of delphiniums from diseases

Delphiniums are highly susceptible to diseases, so they should be sprayed as a preventive measure with solutions of biological products in July - August, every 2-3 weeks. When diseases (powdery mildew) appear, plants should be treated chemicals protection.

When preparing delphiniums for winter, I always cut off the flower stalks, leaving about 25 cm from the ground. I collect flower stalks in a bunch and tie with twine or just break it in half to the ground. This is done so that moisture from autumn rains does not get into the hollow stems and does not reach the root system - this is how the roots are protected from decay and decay.

Most expensive varieties can be mulched with peat or humus with a layer of 3-4 cm.

Vegetative propagation

Important

When sowing seeds in the ground, the number of seedlings of the delphinium decreases sharply.

As a result natural selection rises and develops more plants with natural color (blue-violet). To save varietal features delphiniums are best propagated vegetatively - by division or cuttings.

Large dense delphinium bushes should be thinned out, leaving 2-3 of the strongest shoots. Remote shoots can be used for cuttings.

Preparing for winter

Faded delphinium stems must be cut to the ground - in this case, they will bloom again, although the flowering will not be so luxurious.

The division of the bushes is carried out in early spring or at the end of August. Landing root collar deepen by 2-3 cm, no more

Seeds of delphiniums can be sown at several times: in March - in the garden, in April and May - in the ground, before winter - on frozen ground.

Varieties of New Zealand delphiniums - description

• innosens- pure white with a white eye.
• Double Innocence– white terry and semi double flowers.
• Pink Punch- Terry and semi-double dark pink flowers.
• Purple Passion- purple-violet with a white eye.
• Moonlight Blues- dense brushes of bright blue double flowers.
• Morning Light- dense brushes of two-color bluish-lilac semi-double flowers.
• R oyal Espiration- cornflower blue with a white eye.
• Dusky Maidens- pink with a brown eye.
• Blue Lace- light blue with a pink tint, terry.
• Misty Mauves- light and dark lilac with corrugated petals, terry.

New Zealand delphiniums - photo varieties

New Zealand delphiniums: question - answer

I really like New Zealand delphiniums. But buying plants is expensive. Perhaps they are not very difficult to grow from seed? What care do they need? Will we grow perennial delphiniums?

Lilia Voskoboynikova, Kolomna

New Zealand hybrids are very decorative, winter hardy and disease resistant. Seeds of delphiniums quickly lose their germination, they can be stored in the refrigerator (at a low positive temperature) more than a year. The best time for sowing - March. Seeds should be soaked for 20 minutes before sowing. in a gauze bag in a solution of bright pink potassium permanganate.

The seedlings do not tolerate picking well, so it is advisable to sow the seeds in individual containers, and the soil layer in them should be at least 10 cm. A mixture of sand, leafy or soddy soil is used with the addition of a small amount of humus and peat. Cups with seeds are covered with a dark film, the temperature until germination is maintained at 10-15°C (sprouts appear after 9-10 days).

The seeds fall asleep thin layer soil 2-4 mm. Soaking seeds will help increase germination, for this they are kept in a damp cloth in the refrigerator for 5-6 days before sowing. Another way is to put a container with sown seeds for 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Seedlings are grown at a temperature of 20-25 ° C, you should not immediately expose it to the sun. In cloudy weather, it is desirable to carry out additional illumination.

Young plants should be watered moderately and regularly using a spray bottle.

Plant seedlings in open ground possible at the end of April. New Zealand hybrids are considered frost-resistant; in winters with little snow, they are covered with spruce branches. You can sow the seeds before winter, but in this case, due to the effects of frost, the color of the flowers is not guaranteed.

Delphinium is a flower that refers to herbaceous plants. Family - buttercup. In another way, the flower is called larkspur. In total, there are more than 450 species of annual and perennial delphiniums. annual plants can be represented by 40 species. in China and South-East Asia delphinium is very common. Some gardeners say that the unopened flower resembles the head of a dolphin. Hence the name of the plant. But there is another opinion, they say, the flower appeared in the city of Delphi, in Greece. In any case, all florists agree that the plant is popular and adorns any florist.

It should be noted right away that growing a delphinium is very difficult task. The place chosen for planting the plant should be well lit in the morning. After lunch, it is desirable that there is a shadow. Water should not stagnate on the ground, otherwise the flower begins to rot. After the plant is planted in. After five years, the plant must be transplanted to a new place, otherwise it disappears. Often the long and fragile stems of delphiniums break in the wind. That's why they need to be tied up as soon as the stems rise high. If you are ready to follow all the rules for caring for this flower, then he will thank you lush bloom September or even August.

As already mentioned, there are two types of delphiniums:

• annual,
• perennial.

Annuals:

The most common annual species is field Alaska Delphinium. This is field plant, which in the wild reaches two meters in height. In inflorescences are terry or simple. how cultivated plant delphinium appeared in 1572. Flowering delphinium begins in mid-summer and ends in late autumn.

It is noteworthy that the Alaska delphinium is a hybrid plant. It's a mix of Doubtful and Eastern varieties. The stem can reach 100 centimeters in height. Flowers are purple, red, blue, pink and even lilac. Among them are also dwarf plants, which begin to bloom late and finish flowering only with the onset of frost.

Perennials:

Already in the nineteenth century, perennial delphiniums began to grow. It was Delphinium high and Delphinium Large-flowered. At the same time, hybrid plants began to be obtained. And the French florist Victor Lemoine brought plants with terry reds, blues and lavender flowers. Today there are more than eight hundred flowers of perennial delphiniums. At the same time, both tall and short plants are found.

Perennial hybrid flowers are divided into groups depending on the place of origin.

• Scottish hybrids of the F1 group are considered the most popular.
• Marfin and New Zealand delphinium hybrids are also considered popular, but a little less.

For example, New Zealand delphiniums tolerate frost well and have unsurpassed decorative functions. As for the marfin species, it is very difficult to find it. The fact is that a flower grown from seeds loses its signs.

A group of New Zealand delphiniums was created not so long ago. Plants are different tall, double flowers. The popularity of flowers of this group determined frost resistance, resistance to diseases, as well as durability. If you want to make money growing flowers, then New Zealand varieties are the best option.

Growing delphinium seeds

An exciting activity is when delphiniums are grown from seeds. Not only that, you can make good money doing it. Today we will tell you how to grow delphiniums from seeds. Sow seeds at the end of winter. If the seeds were stored in a warm place, then they will germinate poorly.

Before the seeds are planted in the soil, they must be disinfected. To do this, the seeds are placed in a gauze bag and lowered into a solution of potassium permanganate for several hours. Then the seeds are washed cold water, are dried.

For seeds, the soil is prepared from peat, humus and ordinary land from the garden. In order for the moisture resistance to be moderate, sand, perlite and the usual mixture of soil, which is sold for flowers in the store, must be added to the mixture. To destroy all pests, the soil must be heated in a water bath. Once the containers are filled with soil, the seeds can be planted.

When planting, be sure to inscribe where which variety is planted - indicate the date of planting. Seeds are sprinkled with soil by three millimeters. Upper layer compacted. Then you need to cover the crops with a black film and put on the windowsill - closer to the heat. The fact is that the seeds germinate better in the dark. In order for the seeds to germinate quickly, it is necessary to provide a temperature of 15 degrees maximum. To increase germination, containers with crops are placed overnight in the refrigerator after three days. Shoots appear after two weeks. Then immediately you need to remove the film. From time to time, the ground needs to be watered or just sprayed.

Once the plants have three leaves, they can be dived into separate pots. Germination is carried out at temperatures up to 20 degrees. The soil should be loose, well pass moisture. In May, you can accustom the plant to the air, exposing it to the windowsill when airing the room. Before planting in the ground, you can feed the plant with minerals. As soon as the roots in the pot braid the soil, you can plant the plant in the soil. Seedlings are very easy to remove from the flower bed, while the roots are not damaged.

When there is confidence that the frost will not return, you can plant the delphinium in the ground. Pits are dug at a distance of 60 centimeters from each other. The diameter of the pit is 40 centimeters, the depth is up to 50 centimeters. We put half a bucket of humus in each hole. You can add ash and complex fertilizers. At the end, the resulting mixture should be mixed with the ground so that the fertilizer does not get on the young roots of the flower. As soon as the landing is made, the earth is trampled down and watered. At first, seedlings need to be covered with a dome of plastic bottle. As soon as active growth begins, the dome is removed.

So, shoots appear 15 centimeters high. The plant needs to be fed with cow droppings with the calculation of 1 bucket of droppings per 10 buckets of water. The bed needs to be constantly loosened, watered and mulched, and the bushes need to be trimmed when the plant becomes 25 centimeters high. We leave up to three stems on the bush. Weak shoots are cut off. So we protect the plant from diseases. Cut shoots can be used for germination. So, we put them in sand and peat. After three weeks, roots may appear.

After the plant grown in the ground reaches half a meter in height, three supports up to two meters high must be dug around it. Work is carried out carefully so as not to damage the roots. As soon as the delphinium reaches a height of 120 centimeters, it will be possible to tie up its stem so that it does not break from the wind.

On the growing season the plant must be provided with 60 liters of water. So that the plant does not disappear in the hot summer, up to three buckets of water are poured under it every day. After the soil dries after watering, it is loosened to a depth of five centimeters. Watering is especially needed when inflorescences are formed. If powdery mildew appears on the plant, then it must be dealt with. Disinfectants are used, which can be bought at a flower shop.

As soon as flowering ends, the inflorescence must be removed. Then the seeds are harvested for a new crop, and a shoot will appear at the cut site, which will again bloom. Even then, you can divide the flower into several plants. The leaves also need to be cut from the plant after flowering to a height of 40 centimeters.

Delphinium New Zealand giant grown from seeds

New Zealand delphiniums amaze with their beauty and unusualness. The plant looks like a giant, as it reaches a height of 2 m. A powerful stem is covered with large double flowers of various colors. Due to their durability and decorative qualities, they differ significantly from other delphinium varieties.

Out of 2 m in height, the brush has a length of 65-70 cm. An opened bud in diameter reaches 11 cm. Depending on the variety, the flowers are ordinary, double and semi-double. The bottom of the delphinium is abundantly covered with greenery. Dissected leaves are colored in saturated green color. In the same place, the delphinium can grow from 6 to 9 years.

Flowering begins at the end of June and continues until mid-August. During this period, faded brushes are cut off. Thus, they stimulate the re-blooming of the New Zealand delphinium.

Culture varieties

New Zealand delphiniums are considered the most popular, as they have many perennial varieties:

1. Peak lady. The plant is valued for its large velvety flowers of black and crimson hue. Due to the strong corrugation, they look elegant and gentle at the same time.
2. Giant Lime. Unlike other representatives of the New Zealand group, Lime grows up to 2.5 m in height. The flowers are fully double with a yellow-green stripe in the middle. It does not require special care.
3. Azure. The flowers of the plant are colored blue tones. It is considered a favorite variety because it blooms twice a season.
4. Dusky Maiden. Delphinium is tall. The flowers are delicate, large in diameter and colored in pink color. The buds have a brown or black eye.
5. The bride's bouquet. A plant with super-double flowers that look good on lush greenery.

Varieties of the New Zealand delphinium are represented by plants with a height of 1 to 2.5 m. All have large double and voluminous flowers. Some bloom twice a season.

Plant propagation methods

Successful growth of delphinium on land plot depends on the method of planting the plant and care. The gardener must know such points as the time of sowing seeds, growth conditions, watering and more. Growing is not such a complicated procedure, if you give it time.

How to grow a flower in a summer cottage?

Despite the luxury and sophistication, the flower is unpretentious. Able to endure winter frosts without needing shelter. Reproduction method - division of the bush, which is carried out in spring time. The parts into which the plant is divided should have 2-3 healthy branches.

Dividing the bush is not the most popular method of propagation. Most often, flower growers resort to planting seeds. Moreover, the material is harvested at home, if there is an opportunity and desire.

Seed preparation and processing

Before planting in the soil, a disinfection procedure must be carried out. Seeds are distributed over gauze and dipped in a concentrated solution of potassium permanganate. This is followed by the washing process. planting material in clean water. After soaking in "Epin" they are dried.

Sowing seeds for seedlings

A small container is filled with soil, slightly trampling it down. After the seeds are distributed over the surface, they are covered with soil by 3-4 cm. The soil is sprayed warm water, and the container is covered with a black film. In the dark, the seeds will sprout faster and they can be transplanted.

Soil preparation

The soil is a mixture of compost, peat, earth and sand. Perlite added to the soil makes it loose. To 10 parts of soil, one part of the substance is taken. Before falling asleep in containers, the soil is heated in the oven in order to destroy weed seeds and fungal spores.

Transplanting seedlings to a permanent place

To determine if it is time to plant a plant in a permanent place, inspect the root. It should wrap around the entire earthen clod in a pot.

The sprouts are easily removed from the container, while the roots remain safe and sound.

Further flower care

After transplanting to a permanent place, they begin to care for the flower.

Rules for watering and feeding

The giant needs regular hydration. It is not necessary to water the plant too often and abundantly, as a black leg can attack the plantings, and then they will die. Watering should be moderate.

As soon as the plant reaches a height of 15 cm, the first feeding is carried out.

Manure is diluted with water, the plant is watered, after which the soil is loosened and weeds are removed.

pruning

Thinning is subject to delphiniums that have reached 25 cm in height. The purpose of the procedure is to obtain larger inflorescences with an intense color. On average, no more than 5 branches are left on one bush. Pruning promotes air circulation, increasing the giant's resistance to plant diseases.

Thin and weak stems near the soil surface are subject to pruning. The cut is treated with a tablet activated carbon ground into powder. If a heel remains on the cut branches, they are rooted.

Methods for controlling diseases and pests

In the middle of summer, the delphinium is affected powdery mildew. If urgent measures are not taken, the aerial part will die in a few days. The giant is treated with Topaz or Fundazol.

Gardeners have to treat the plant for black spot. For this, a Tetracycline tablet is diluted in 1 liter of water. The solution is sprayed with hibiscus. Instances in the unopened form of the disease are amenable to treatment.

Growing a New Zealand delphinium is a difficult task that requires certain knowledge and minimal experience. If the process is approached with great responsibility, even a beginner will be pleased with the plant with large and beautiful flowers. Creation optimal conditions maintenance and care will do the trick.

Delphinium (lat. delphinium) beautiful tall flower originally from New Zealand. It is also called the New Zealand delphinium hybrid. They were created with the help of selection by Terry Dowdswell. This flower grows up to two meters, and the flower itself consists of 21 petals. The flowers themselves are large with a diameter of 8-9 cm, and the petals are semi-double or double.

• Types of New Zealand delphinium
• Soil preparation and site selection for the New Zealand delphinium
• Buying seeds and preparing New Zealand delphinium seeds for planting
• Planting New Zealand delphinium seeds in the ground
• New Zealand delphinium care
• Planting a New Zealand delphinium in a permanent place and caring for a flower
  • Delphinium New Zealand - 15 centimeters
  • Delphinium New Zealand - 25-30 centimeters
  • Delphinium New Zealand - 50 centimeters
• New Zealand delphinium care during flowering
• Disease and pests of the New Zealand delphinium
  • Types of New Zealand delphinium diseases and their control
  • Types of pests of the New Zealand delphinium and their control
• New Zealand delphinium care after flowering
  • The division of the New Zealand delphinium by the vegetative method
  • New Zealand delphinium care winter period
• Making a flower bed with a New Zealand delphinium, photo

Breeding this flower is very painstaking, and to obtain beautiful flowers you will need a lot of patience and effort. Delphinium was bred by crossing perennials and can grow in a permanent place up to 10 years. Then you can divide the bush and plant it according to different places.

Types of New Zealand delphinium

Delphinium New Zealand giant hybrid is the most common species. It has excellent properties:

• Cold resistance.
• Perennial up to 10 years.
• Disease resistance.
• It can be used to form bouquets.

Delphiniums can have a variety of colors and shades. The middle of the flower can be black, and white, and even striped. The most popular varieties of New Zealand delphiniums:

• Blue Lace - double flowers of blue color with purple streaks.
• Royal Aspirations - cornflower blue.
• Green Twist - snow white with green veins.
• Sunny Skies - pale blue with a lilac tint.
• Misty Mauves - lilac with double, slightly ruffled petals.
• Deep Sweethearts - dark pink flowers with an unusual striped or bright white eye.
• Morning Lights - multi-colored petals from blue-lilac.
• Dusky Maiden - pink flowers are very voluminous.

Soil preparation and site selection for the New Zealand delphinium

You will have to work hard to find a site. First of all, you need to decide on a place, it should be very sunny, without drafts, and the soil should dry out well.

The land must be:

• 1 part garden soil,
• 1 part peat
• 1 part compost
• 0.5 parts of coarse sand.

Garden soil, compost and sand are easy to get, and peat can be bought at any garden store. But the preparation of the land does not end there. In order for the earth to acquire the desired looseness and moisture capacity, you will still need to add perlite. It is added in the ratio of 10 kg of earth and 1 tbsp. substances. We also need to destroy weed seeds and fungal spores, for this you just need to warm the ground in a water bath for 40-50 minutes.

Multiply perennial delphinium can be from seeds. You can also use cuttings, dividing the bush or buds.

Buying seeds and preparing New Zealand delphinium seeds for planting

The cost of seeds is very high, so it is profitable to buy through a joint purchase, now there are a lot of active forums that deal with a joint purchase from New Zealand.

If you have the opportunity to collect New Zealand delphinium seeds from flowers, you are much more fortunate. In June, you need to mark the most beautiful flower stalks and pinch the top of them. These bushes are not treated with chemicals, and when the seed pods begin to ripen, you need to wrap the bottom with a newspaper, like a cup for seeds, and tie the newspapers at the bottom with a rope. The seed pods will ripen from top to bottom and when the pods open they will fall right into the newspaper. In cloudy weather, it is better to cover the flower with seeds from the rain. From one bush you can get about 200 seeds (1 g). After receiving the seeds, they must be placed in the refrigerator for 3 days or stored there until planting.

To increase the germination of seeds, you must first go through the disinfection procedure, for this they are placed in gauze, and then dipped in a highly concentrated solution of potassium permanganate. The seeds are washed running water, after that it will be necessary to soak the seeds in a solution of epin. At the final stage, the seeds are dried and laid out so that they do not stick together.

The next step will be soil preparation (stratification):

• take a piece of cotton fabric light color, rectangular shape and evenly place the seeds along the fabric,
• gently fold it on both sides and roll it into a roll, making sure that the seeds do not move,
• prepare containers in which your seed rolls will be stored. Pour water at the bottom, put the rolls. The water should cover them by about half,
• place the containers in the refrigerator or on the veranda in winter.

After a week, check the seeds, if they are swollen, then they are ready for planting.

Planting New Zealand delphinium seeds in the ground

• Sow seeds in late March - early April. Delphinium is sown in special containers that need to be filled with our soil. Sowing density 2 seeds per 1 square. cm.
• Then you need to tamp a little.
• Seeds are planted superficially. In order not to confuse where what varieties and when you landed, it is worth signing the containers.
• Many people have a problem - the seeds are black and it is not clear how to sow, this problem is solved simply - they sprinkle the prepared soil river sand and sown with seeds, and in order for the seeds to hold firmly on the surface - when watering, you need to cover them with earth 3-4 mm.
• When you are done with planting the seeds, you will need to water them with boiled water at room temperature.

New Zealand delphinium care

Germination largely depends on lighting, in the dark the seeds germinate better and faster. Therefore, the seedlings need to be covered with a black film and placed in the sun. Periodically, the containers are cleaned in a cool place 10-15 ° C.

The film is removed as soon as the first shoots appear, somewhere in 1-1.5 weeks, and the rest may take up to a month. A place for further growth is chosen very lit, but cool.

New Zealand delphinium seedling care

• Seedling care consists in constant spraying and airing of the plant, as soon as our New Zealand delphinium seedlings get stronger and a few leaves appear, they can be planted in pots of 300 milliliters, temperature regime should be within 20 °C.
• Watering should be scattered, without a clear stream, and constant. An excess of moisture should not be allowed - this can lead to a disease - a black leg, from which plants can die. Starting in May, it is necessary to adapt seedlings to fresh air and sunbeams.
• You need to fertilize the delphinium twice - during planting in pots and at the time of planting in a permanent place. The interval between fertilizers should be about two weeks. Agricol or solute can be used as a fertilizer.
• To understand whether the seedlings are ready for transplanting to a permanent place, you need to inspect the earthen ball, the roots should completely braid it and it should be easily removed from the container or pot.

Planting a New Zealand delphinium in a permanent place and caring for a flower

Growing New Zealand delphinium seedlings in the open field is an easier process. Before planting, you need to prepare holes 50 cm deep, and pour 0.5 buckets of sand there so that it winters well. We mix the excavated earth with peat and compost and fill the seedling to the place where the root forms.

Delphinium New Zealand - 15 centimeters

When the plant reaches 15 cm in height, you can feed it with fertilizer. We take 1 bucket of manure and dilute it with 10 liters of water. The solution should be enough to water 5 bushes. The next procedure is to prevent weed rotting by mulching the ground around the plant. Peat is ideal for this.

Delphinium New Zealand - 25-30 centimeters

You can already start thinning the plant to get larger and more beautiful inflorescences, and this will also help. the best passage air and improve its resistance to diseases. No more than 4-5 shoots should remain on one bush. When thinning, you need to carefully examine the plant, leave the strongest stems, and cut off the thin and weak ones.

Rooting cuttings

The resulting cuttings can be tried to root. To do this, the place of the cut is treated with coal, and then crushed with a tablet, in a month you will have roots. And after 14 days after the appearance of the roots, you can plant in open ground.

Delphinium New Zealand - 50 centimeters

You will already need a support for flowers. Rods are suitable for this, they are needed so that the plants hold well and do not break. You will need 3 two-meter-high rods to tie 1 delphinium bush. For ties, it is best to use shreds of fabric. The next garter plants when they reach a meter height.

New Zealand delphinium care during flowering

New Zealand delphiniums are very fond of water. When the plant is actively growing, it consumes more than 50 liters of water. Where the climate is warm, in hot weather, flowers are watered once a week. One flower requires about 3 liters of water. Flowers are very fond of when they have fluffy ground, so after watering, you need to loosen the ground around the bush, deepening by about 5 cm.

When the flowers bloom, they need more water and fertilizer. Phosphate-potassium fertilizers are ideal in a ratio of 20 g of the substance per bucket of water. One bush needs 1 liter of fertilizer. With this procedure, you will get a very beautiful flowers and maximum long flowering.

Disease and pests of the New Zealand delphinium

The biggest concern for New Zealand hybrid delphiniums is proper care followed by. However, no matter how hard you try, plants sometimes get sick and pests can start on them, and then you need to act very quickly.

Types of New Zealand delphinium diseases and their control

• powdery mildew

This is a gray-white bloom, and the leaves themselves become brown-brown.
Treatment: spray with a 0.5% solution of Bordeaux liquid, foundationazole or Topaz.

• Fusarium or stem wilt

Brown watery spots appear and soon the plant dies.
Treatment: affected shoots are cut off and thrown away, but it is better to burn.

• black spots

Cover the flower from top to bottom along the stem. You can treat only in a non-running state.
Treatment: 1 tab. tetracycline is dissolved in 1 liter of water. And spray the plant, repeat until it is completely cured.

• ring spot

The leaves are starting to turn yellow. Treatment is useless, only the destruction of damaged processes. For prevention, you can treat with actellik or karbofos.

Types of pests of the New Zealand delphinium and their control

• Delphinium fly (phorbia)

Highly dangerous insect for the New Zealand delphinium, which lays its eggs on the flower, and when they hatch, they begin to eat the flower.
Treated with insecticides. It is also useful to add dry mustard, wood ash and ground pepper.

• Slugs

Slugs eat young plants, and during the night they can destroy all seedlings. We put lime next to the plant, it will scare them away. You can set traps for slugs. Spread the cabbage leaves, and in the morning collect and throw out or destroy the creeping slugs.

The aphid loves delphinium leaves very much. Prevention should be carried out in the spring - spray with tobacco or process laundry soap.

New Zealand delphinium care after flowering

After the flower has faded, you need to cut off all the inflorescences, of course, if you do not need seeds. After pruning, new shoots will begin to grow. If everything is done correctly, they will bloom again closer to autumn.

The division of the New Zealand delphinium by the vegetative method

In the period between flowering, it is possible to carry out the division of bushes of 3-4 years of age. To begin with, the bush is dug up and carefully, without affecting the kidneys, we divide it into parts with a sharp knife. The places where we cut need to be processed wood ash. And plant them separately. And after the flowers of the hybrids wither again, when their leaves dry up, you need to cut all the stems at the level of 30 cm, and the sections of the stems are covered with clay, these procedures will protect the roots from decay.

New Zealand delphinium care in winter

Cut to 30 cm from the ground.
New Zealand delphiniums are very hardy, regardless of age. Before winter, they are covered with straw or spruce branches.

Making a flower bed with a New Zealand delphinium, photo

Plant them in the background. The delphinium looks elegantly along walls and fences, which gives it additional protection from the wind. Looks very good if made from delphinium hedge or disguise an ugly barn with it.

It is very convenient to use these flowers for making bouquets, they can stand cut from 5-10 days. If you change the water daily and trim them, they will last much longer.

A flower bed can be made from them single landings, and you can do from them the background for a flower bed. They look picturesque with a rose, a lily or a beautiful yucca.