I was at wal-mart today and they had the most gorgeous plants. They had GORGEOUS blue flowers. The were marked Delphiniums, but when I looked them up online, they don't look the same. The delphiniums that I found online look more like stalks....kind of like gladiolus....but the ones that I saw where more bush-like.....round in shape with small blue flowers all over it. Was it indeed a delphinium or was it something else????

If it was a delphinium, are they perennials??...annuals??? shade??? sun??? partial??? I need some specs!!!

Hello,

I just read you question on delphiniums, and I had the same question. I bought two at the greenhouse: one was a bush-like blue plant, and the other was a stalky thing. So it seems that both are delphiniums, just different varieties.
One thing to consider before you buy the bushy-like one however is that, in my garden, it seems to have a long time in getting to that beautiful blue. Right now it is just a 'curly green...turning to blue..plant..' I;m still waiting for the beautiful blue stage!

happy gardening!

I see...the ones at wal-mart here are already blooming. Now, I have to wonder if they've given it something to make it bloom early or not since there was a post about large chains doing that.

Is the plant an annual or a perennial? And what kind of sun light does the tag suggest for it??

Hmmmm I don't think it was a delphinium if it was a bush type dealio. They grow more like glads do... wonder what it was you saw? Hmmmmmmmmm wonder if my wally world has them too...I'll have to check it out next time I go (ie., you just gave me an excuse to go to the garden center next time we're there LOL!)

ohhhhhhhhh Check this out:

delphinium summer

What kind of leaves does it have? If they are needle like it maybe larkspur???

I don't remember the leaves.....I'm going back tomorrow and will probably just buy the plant....I really did like it. I just want to know how to take care of it.....if I get it I'll take a picture.

Mary, it looked more like the summer, except the flowers were much smaller in relationship to the plant itself.

My mom's blue delphiniums' are blooming
right now...with no hormone's...

but it could be they were cut back,
sometimes with the second blooming
they tend to be shorter, bushier and not
nearly as tall????

They are a perennial....Full to partial shade..
My moms' get's early morning and late afternoon
sun. Regular amounts of water and a little fertilizer... They can be long lived if in the right conditions, but some can be picky if planted too deep and don't thrive...

The seeds are really easy to start, got a package
from Wally~World and they were only like .10, .25, .50 like...*early in the season*
they have Burpbee's out now that are like $1.59 or something like that.

Maybe next to my pond box wouldn't be a good spot for it then. It gets sun until about 1:00, then it gets shade. Is that too much sun???

Maybe I'll keep it in a pot until next year and put it in the front when I do the terracing??? It doesn't get sun until about 2:30 or 3:00. What do you think??

Ok, Delphiniums are descended from the Aconitums (aconitum napellus) which are also known as wolfsbane. Now Aconitum napellus has very poisonous roots, but delphiniums are listed horticulturally as simply :FATAL. They are really poisonous.

If you do have delphs make sure there is nothing around that might chew or eat them, like cats.

By the way, delphiniums are pretty enough, but the original wildflower (A. Napellus) is far more beautiful.

Self seeding perennial

Delphiniums 'larkspur' & aconitums 'monkshood' are both in family Ranunculaceae 'buttercups'.

Just about the entire family is poisonous.

But, sometimes, the most beautiful things are the most deadly.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/daisey_diesel Sorry that is probably not the best way to show you it. This is a picture of a plant I purchased at a local nursery its tag said it was a butterfly blue delphinium. It had no care directions on it. It puts me in to a mind of a type of columbine the way it grows and seeds. It has all gone to seed now and there are no flowers left, should I dead head? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Karrie,
Got this message on your yahoo thingie....

Let me try again .....

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/daisey_diesel/detail?.dir=2700&.dnm=1964.jpg&.src=ph

I think that should work (hope may be more appropiate).

That's the same color as the one
my mom has...

I just love that blue!!!!!!!

'Ok, Delphiniums are descended from the Aconitums'

Twaddle. Sorry about this, sometimes I get a little defensive about Aconitums.

Delphs belong to their own genus in the family ranunculaceae.

Sorry for getting all ahead of myself

Weezie how does she promote additional growth? Dead head it or what? Or is it done with for the year now? Its all gone to seed. My son actually picked this flower out. He saw it at the nursery and wouldnt leave without it. I figure buying him flowers is not so bad so these demands are usually met! Benefits he and I both and the yard! lol

I think that's the best thing to do - just buy the plant, bring it home and water it. Watch it grow and if it's something else, well then you have 'something else'.

Even if a plant's an 'idunnosia' and it looks good, I'm happy to have it survive.

Karrie,
I personally don't deadhead mine *or her's* until
fall time...I tend to let mine just be on a regular schedule... no double blooms...

Only because I live here in zone 5 and it's a short enough season, that by the time they bloom,
stay blooming for a week or more, and then start to die down, it's almost the end of the season...
and if I cut it down to promote a second growth and flowering, I run the risk of the plant having new green~tender growth, late in the season,
when I really want it to be preparing it's self for nightie~night here for the winter...

To me, it weakens an already not allllllllll that
hardy type of a plant...I mean it does good, under the right conditions, and then sometimes can fade..I've had gorgeous one's and then they've died or didn't come up the following spring...

so, like I said for me, I just leave it....

But.....someone in a longer growing season,
may very well be able to do this, the double flowering and have it fair well.

I know they re~seed on their own too, my mom
had one do that... *I never did*

Thanks Weezie, I just adore you. Your always so helpful, and it is appreciated. I think I will just leave mine alone I am also in Zone 5 actually right on the border of 5a and 5b not real sure which it is. I dont think it makes a real big difference. I am gonna have a ton of seeds from it if all those pods produce though.