Deadhead Delphiniums, or Cut Right Down?

Kristen - surely you're not saying that you have just the one plant of each species!!??

Thought not (that would be so out of character). So go fifty/fifty and see what works best.

 

Will do

 

Pretty much all of my plants start out that way, until propagated.

I've never got around to propagating my Delphs ... intend to, each spring, but just never had the time at that moment in the annual calender ...

I do fancy this method of propagation though, instead of Spring New-Shoots Cuttings - not yet been brave enough to do that either!!

I watch videos, like these, on Speed=2 - voice still understandable, and I get the "condensed version" in half the time


Part 1 - Digging up the mother plant (Starts about 3 minutes in)


Part 2 Prepping and Planting


Follow up - a year later (I think)

 

I'd cut it right down Kristen. I've done that to mine as soon as the flowers fade for a few years now.

I usually get a second flowering which, although not as good as the first flush, provides a reasonable showing in late summer/early autumn.

This was mine early last month, it had the usual treatment last year and I measured the tallest of the flower spikes at 6ft 4ins this year!

 

I cut mine down last week and looks there is new growth already :-)

 

I chopped them right down a couple of weeks ago, the new growth is a foot high with buds,be cruel to be kind !

 

Sadly I don't seem to have noted WHEN I cut mine down. But I did cut them RIGHT down, although there was already some fresh growth at the bottom, which I left. Originally chatter in this thread was 1st week of July, so earliest I am likely to have done it was 2nd week of July ...

... they've just started flowering, and my "biggest one" is nudging 6' with flower stalk still extending, so its going to do a good 6'6", maybe 7' on the "reflower".

Definitely going to repeat that in future years




Cropped closeup