Content
- 1 Description of the New Zealand delphinium
- 2 Varieties of New Zealand delphiniums
- 2.1 Delphinium New Zealand Cobalt Dreams
- 2.2 Delphinium New Zealand Pagan Parples
- 2.3 Delphinium New Zealand Green Twist
- 2.4 Delphinium New Zealand New Millennium Mini Stars
- 2.5 Delphinium New Zealand Black Aid Angels
- 2.6 Delphinium New Zealand Sweetheart
- 2.7 Delphinium New Zealand Giant
- 2.8 Delphinium New Zealand Blue Lays
- 2.9 Delphinium New Zealand Double Innosens
- 3 How to grow a New Zealand delphinium from seeds
- 4 Planting and caring for the New Zealand delphinium in the open field
- 5 Reproduction
- 6 Diseases and pests
- 7 Conclusion
- 8 Reviews of the New Zealand delphinium
Delphinium New Zealand is a very beautiful perennial plant that can become the pride of any suburban area. There are a lot of delphinium varieties, but in order to successfully grow a flower, you need to know the rules for caring for it.
Description of the New Zealand delphinium
The New Zealand delphinium is a beautiful perennial plant that reaches about 2 m in height and can grow in one place for up to 8 years. Delphinium consists of a high dense stem, which is covered with numerous shoots, bright green foliage and large inflorescences, collected in a brush up to 70 cm tall.
The easiest way to recognize a perennial is precisely by its colors, usually they consist of 5 petals in each, painted in white, red, cornflower blue, purple and violet. The shade of flowers depends on the variety of the New Zealand delphinium, but the diameter of an individual bud is almost only about 10 cm. The second name of a delphinium is spur, since there are spurs on its upper petals. The plant blooms in late June and until early August, and if you cut off the brushes that have finished flowering in time, then by September the perennial will bloom again.
Under natural conditions, the plant grows in Europe and America. The New Zealand delphinium is cultivated all over the world, it grows well in all countries with warm climates.
Varieties of New Zealand delphiniums
Breeders have bred dozens of varieties of high New Zealand delphinium. Between themselves, they differ mainly in shades of color and height, and the rules of care are the same for almost any variety.
Delphinium New Zealand Cobalt Dreams
The Cobalt Dreams variety is one of the artificially bred perennial subspecies. The flowers of the plant have a dark blue color with a white center, they look very attractive in landscape design. It is possible to grow a perennial in almost any climatic conditions; with proper care, Cobalt Dreams tolerates cold well and retains its health and decorative effect.
Delphinium New Zealand Pagan Parples
The Pagan Parples variety can grow from 170 to 190 cm in height and has large double-flowered flowers. The color of Pagan Parples is deep purple, the plant looks spectacular both in single and in group plantings. The rules for caring for PaganParples are standard - the plant tolerates cold and poor soil well, but requires regular watering.
Delphinium New Zealand Green Twist
The perennial plant grows to an average of 140-160 cm and in early summer brings white double flowers. A characteristic feature of the Green Twist variety is the presence of dim yellow strokes on the petals and a green "eye" in the center of the inflorescence. The flowering of the variety continues until September.White New Zealand delphinium Green Twist is resistant to any growing conditions, but requires regular watering.
Delphinium New Zealand New Millennium Mini Stars
The New Millennium Mini Stars delphinium variety is usually sold as a flower mix that includes 4 colors - purple, dark pink, lilac and blue. New Millennium Mini Stars is a New Zealand dwarf delphinium, since the height of powerful peduncles usually does not exceed 70 cm, which is very little for a delphinium. The flowers of the variety are large, the diameter of each can be up to 9 cm.
Delphinium New Zealand Black Aid Angels
A very unusual variety of delphinium is Black Eyed Angels, or "black-eyed angels" if translated literally. The name well conveys the appearance of a perennial - the large flowers of the plant are white with an anthracite-black core.
The average height of Black Eyed Angels is about 120 cm, the stems of the perennial are dense, the flowers are densely arranged and can open up to 8 cm in diameter.
Delphinium New Zealand Sweetheart
The Royal English Horticultural Society Prize-winning Sweetharts grows to a height of 180-200 cm and is distinguished by abundant and dense flowering. The flowers of the Sweetharts delphinium are large, pink in color, and in the middle there are white or striped eyes.
The Sweetharts variety decoratively decorates any site and looks good in single flower beds and large compositions. Growing conditions for a flower should be the same as for most delphiniums - the plant loves moisture, tolerates winter cold well, but needs shelter.
Delphinium New Zealand Giant
Delphinium Giant is a whole series of varieties of tall and powerful plants with huge double inflorescences. In height, Giant delphiniums reach 2 m, bloom profusely and for a long time. The following plant varieties can be distinguished:
- Lime - brings white flowers with a green-yellow stripe in the middle of each petal, rises quickly after sowing, grows above 2 m;
- Giant Azure - a tall perennial up to 2 m and more in height, blooms in early or mid-summer with large double flowers of azure-blue color, the inflorescences of the variety are very dense;
- Giant Night - a tall, very strong and hardy variety up to 2 m tall, distinguished by deep purple dense inflorescences covering the entire stem, with a white eye in the middle of each flower.
All delphiniums of the Gigant series are united by unpretentious care and quiet growth in almost any conditions. In moderately frosty winters, a perennial can not even be covered on the site, the cold will not harm its health.
Delphinium New Zealand Blue Lays
The Blue Lays variety has very beautiful and large double flowers of a delicate lilac shade with an expressive blueness closer to the edges of the petals and a yellow core. The perennial grows up to 1.5 m and more, blooms very abundantly and colorfully, a pleasant aroma emanates from the flowers. The variety has high frost resistance and is generally unpretentious to growing conditions, therefore it easily takes root in any area.
Delphinium New Zealand Double Innosens
The Double Innosens variety belongs to the New Millennium series of varieties and is distinguished by white, double, large flowers up to 4 cm in diameter each. The flowers of the plant are collected in inflorescences and usually appear in July, while the flowering period lasts a long time, since new flower stalks appear on the perennial stems instead of fading ones.
The Dumble Innosens variety has high winter hardiness and can withstand winter cold even without additional shelter.
How to grow a New Zealand delphinium from seeds
Tall New Zealand delphinium is usually grown from seeds. If such a perennial has never grown on the site before, the seed must be bought.And if you already have a perennial, seeds can be harvested from existing plants at the end of flowering.
- Before planting in the ground, it is advisable to soak purchased or collected seeds, this will increase their germination from 67% to 80%. To soak, the seeds should be placed in damp gauze and refrigerated for a week, regularly checking the gauze and re-moistening it if necessary.
- When the seeds swell, they can be sown in boxes for seedlings - holes are made in the soil about 3 mm deep, the seed is placed in them and sprinkled with earth, lightly tamping.
- After planting, the boxes with seeds need to be watered properly, or even better, thoroughly sprayed with settled water to avoid washing out the seeds. Then a plastic wrap is pulled over the container and the seedlings are placed in a lighted and warm place at a temperature of about 15 degrees. 3 days after sowing, it is advisable to start removing the box with seeds in a cool place overnight.
With the correct sowing of seeds of the New Zealand delphinium, seedlings appear after 2 weeks. After that, you will need to remove the film from the seedling boxes, water the seedlings and further moisten the soil as it dries.
When the sprouts have 3 full-fledged leaves, the seedlings will need to dive - transplant each of them into a separate pot filled with loose nutritious soil. When the sprouts are a little stronger, they can be prepared for planting in the ground. Before that, it is recommended to briefly take out the seedlings to fresh air for several days in a row, each time increasing the residence time of perennial sprouts in the open air.
Planting and caring for the New Zealand delphinium in the open field
Growing a New Zealand delphinium is a fairly simple task for a gardener. It is necessary to remember only the most basic rules for transplanting and caring for a plant in the open field.
Landing site preparation
Delphinium loves well-lit places, so it is recommended to select a plot for it sunny or with light shading. The plant is undemanding to the soil, but grows best on neutral or slightly acidic loams and sandy loam soils. A perennial does not tolerate constant stagnation of moisture; good drainage must be organized for it on the site.
The depth of the planting hole for perennials is usually about 50 cm in depth, the diameter of the hole should be 40 cm. Half a bucket of compost and a glass of wood ash, as well as complex mineral fertilizers, are poured into each hole. It is necessary to prepare a hole for planting a few days before planting, so that the fertilizers have time to be properly absorbed by the soil.
New Zealand delphinium planting rules
It is necessary to plant the delphinium in the ground in late spring, after the last frosts have passed. Despite the fact that the perennial is characterized by increased cold resistance, frost can cause severe damage to young seedlings.
- The seedlings of the New Zealand delphinium are carefully removed from the previous containers, it is recommended to soak the soil before that.
- Together with the remnants of an earthen coma, the plant is lowered into the prepared hole.
- If necessary, carefully spread the roots, and then fill the hole with earth to the top.
Immediately after planting, the delphinium must be watered. It is also recommended to cover young plants for the first time with a film or a glass jar to increase the humidity level, this will contribute to faster rooting. When the delphinium begins to grow actively, the shelter can be removed.
Watering and feeding
Delphinium New Zealand is a moisture-loving plant that requires regular watering.It is recommended to moisten the soil under the perennial as the soil dries out, the soil should always remain slightly damp. In this case, it is necessary to prevent stagnation of water in the roots of the plant, since perennials can die from waterlogging.
In the summer, watering should be increased; under bright sunlight, the soil dries out faster.
As for feeding, it is recommended to apply it for the first time after the seedling reaches 15-20 cm. It is best to dilute organic manure in water and simply water the delphinium with this solution, and then loosen the soil and weed out the weeds.
Pruning
Upon reaching a certain height, the delphinium is recommended to be cut and thinned. This not only makes the plant's bushes more decorative, but also improves flowering characteristics. Since the perennial does not have to spend energy on feeding extra shoots, it begins to bloom more abundantly, and the inflorescences themselves become brighter and larger.
Pruning is carried out after the delphinium grows more than 25 cm in height. On one bush of a perennial plant, no more than 5 shoots should be left, this will contribute to a good distribution of nutrients, and at the same time improve air circulation inside the bush.
In addition to excess shoots, you also need to trim weak and thin stems located close to the surface of the earth. After the procedure, it is recommended to treat all sections with activated carbon, this will prevent decay.
Preparing for winter
New Zealand delphinium has good cold resistance. However, with the onset of winter, the aboveground part of the plant inevitably dies off. Therefore, it makes no sense to preserve the stems - after the flowering is completed and the leaves dry up, the shoots will need to be cut to about 30 cm above the ground. So that the places of the cuts do not start to rot, in the fall they need to be covered with clay immediately after pruning.
Delphinium can hibernate without special shelter, but in regions with a small amount of snow, perennials are still recommended to be protected from cold weather. To do this, the delphinium must be thrown with spruce branches or straw, the shelter will slightly warm the soil and prevent the roots from freezing in the absence of a high snow cover.
Reproduction
Growing a New Zealand Giant delphinium from seeds is one of the easiest ways to increase the flower population in a summer cottage. It is necessary to collect seed in the fall at the end of flowering, after which the seeds are soaked at home and planted in closed containers. It takes about 2 weeks to germinate the seeds, and then all that remains is to care for the sprouts until next spring, when they can be transplanted into open ground.
Another simple and effective breeding method is dividing the bush for adult perennials. The procedure is carried out as follows:
- for division, a New Zealand delphinium 3-4 years old is chosen, younger plants have an insufficiently developed root system, and old delphiniums adapt worse during transplantation;
- division can be carried out both in spring and in autumn - in the first case, the delphinium is dug out of the ground as soon as new leaves begin to form on its shoots, and in the second, they wait for the end of flowering and the beginning of seed ripening;
- an adult plant is carefully dug out of the ground and the rhizome is carefully cut into several parts, each of the divisions must have a strong healthy shoot, at least one dormant bud and well-developed intact roots;
- the delenki are seated in prepared standard holes, watered abundantly and then care for them according to the classical scheme.
As a rule, the divided delphinium begins to bloom profusely the next year.
Among the classic methods of breeding delphinium, cuttings should also be called.
- In the spring, it is necessary to cut off several young apical shoots about 10 cm long from an adult delphinium.
- Each of the cuttings should have a "heel" - a part of the root tissue.
- Cuttings are placed in a solution for a day, which promotes rapid root growth, and then rooted in a seedling box, using peat and weight mixed with each other in equal amounts as soil.
- It is necessary to deepen the "heel" of the cuttings by 1.5-2 cm, after planting in the container, the shoots are watered and covered with a glass cap or plastic wrap.
- It is necessary to keep the cuttings in the shade at a temperature of 20-25 ° C, on average it takes about 5 weeks for high-quality rooting.
Throughout the year, cuttings are grown in closed containers so that they are properly strengthened, and next spring they are planted in the open air according to the standard scheme.
Diseases and pests
The beautiful and unpretentious New Zealand delphinium remains vulnerable to some ailments and garden parasites. Of the diseases for him are especially dangerous:
- powdery mildew, capable of killing aerial shoots in just a few days;
- black spot depriving the plant of decorativeness and leading to its death.
To get rid of fungi, it is recommended to spray and sprinkle the New Zealand delphinium with proven agents, such as Topaz or Fundazol. It is important to do this at the first symptoms of ailments, then the plant can be saved in time.
Of the garden pests for the delphinium, the delphinium fly and slugs are dangerous - the parasites feed on the green parts of the plant and can completely destroy the perennial. To eliminate parasites, it is necessary to use insecticidal agents Actellik and Karbofos. At the same time, it is best to spray the plantings prophylactically in order to avoid the very appearance of insects and slugs.
Conclusion
Delphinium New Zealand is a very beautiful plant that does not impose high requirements on growing conditions. If you follow the basic rules of planting and caring for a plant, then the perennial will very soon please with generous flowering.
