? on trimming delphinium & foxglove

Hi,
Sorry to bombard you guys with all these questions. I'm going to be away tomorrow. I have a million questions for you guys/gals. Let me know if it is too much. I just need to pick yer brains as I have read a lot online but want to ask you plant guru's to make sure I'm not screwing things up.

The foxglove in the pic bloomed already. I had some tall stalks that the blooms turned brown and started opening up so I whacked the stalks at the ground and opened the pods and took the seeds out. (these things are tiny). The pics you see now have the tall stalks but the little pods on them won't turn brown. They are still green and look like they may flower again. Should I whack these also & will I get seeds out of them after they dry. How long do you let them dry.

The delphiniums bloomed and it rained really hard and bent all the tall stalks so I had to whack those but it made them even better. Look at the pic, it is all new growth. I let the pods semi dry on a car hood (last time for that I have blue blotches all over the hood) and took the seeds out of those also. I don't know if I did it right. Should I have let them really dry for a month or so. Also, do I freeze these. I think I read you have to freeze delphinium seeds. Is there a list of what plants you have to freeze the seeds & how long.

Can I keep these seeds in a metal container over the winter or should I get them growing now and through the winter. I spread some where I wanted to grow some and lost a lot while whacking them then I threw a light handful of sand to hold them down and watered them.

I got quite a few foxglove seeds but the delphinium stalks stuck to the car hood and when I pulled them they were not there. I don't know if a bird got them or I fried them in the hot sun on the hood but they disappeared.

Thanks again & again.

Joel.

Cut the stalks and spent blooms. Leave the plant. Go ahead and plant those seeds. Hopefully, they'll germinate into small plants and next year you may get some blooms off of them.

Thanks again Loon.

Joel.

Re : the foglove seeds. I cut down the ripe stalks and just lay the stalk where I want next years plants to be. They come up very thick, but they look so lush that way

Thanks Girls,
I think I'm confusing myself or I am so tired that none of this is making sense.

Re: Foxglove.

Hi Brenda, I understand the brown stalks have to go but what about when they are brown and big green buds on the same stalk. Do you wait for them to turn all brown.

Hi Granny, When you say ripe do you mean like my pics. Is it better to lay the stalk and have a thick germination or collect seeds and put a few here & there. I was trying to collect seeds to put elsewhere as I don't have that many stalks.

I just don't want to cut these down if they are going to bloom again. If you look at the pics you will see what I'm talking about. I can't tell if these are trying to bloom again or if this is the norm after they bloom & you cut them down.

Can I keep the seeds I collect in a metal container over the winter or should I get them in the ground as the stalk turns brown & I collect them. Is there a better sucess rate when you get them in soil right away? I was hopeing to put them in soil and keep them in some boxes I just built.
I was reading about cold frames and just built two 4x8 boxes and have the coils to heat them through the winter.

I guess what I'm asking is how do you know when they are done blooming if they keep putting out fresh green buds. Some of my stalks have a few flowers left on them and it has bloomed but it is kicking out tiny buds.

Thanks again.

Joel.

Hi Folks,
I'm confused on the pruning also. Can you look at these and tell me if you should just cut it all off or am I trying to save the green new growth that is coming out.

Thanks.

Joel.

Joel

I am a seed collector, and what works for me is to wait till the seed pods are ripe......That means brown and dry. Foxglove has a tendency to bloom from the bottom and work its way to the top of the plant. You really need to wait till it has completed its cycle. I too have foxglove still blooming and drying out as well. I agree with grannymarsh, wait till they are done and just let them finish drying where you want more foxglove. Keep in mind Joel, perennials take a few seasons to mature. Loon is right, you may get some "babies" coming up from the seed yet, this year, in which case you may have some blooms next year. As a rule it does take two years for a perennial to bloom.

The first year they sleep
The second year they creep
The third year they leep!


Deann

OR if you just leave them they will sow them selves all over the place thats what I do so I have them in all stages of growth all over the place If I have to many (how can you have to many ?) I dig them up and put them where I want them or give them away ;0)
Gloria

Re: Foxglove. The new flowers will arrive at the top of the stalk. What I'm seeing in the third photo are not new 'buds' but newly forming seed pods. still green, seeds haven't matured. Ripe seeds will be in a brown colored pod, you can save them, sprinkle them around or lay the stalk on the ground. Keep an eye on them, the trick is to gather them before they pop open. Often, if one cuts/dead-heads the stalk, the plant will send up a new stalk. Usually not as flashy as the original, but a flower just the same. Foxglove is a biennal, foliage the first year, flower the next. It's just easier for me to put the stalk down on the ground and then move the baby plants around as they germinate. Perhaps the germination rate is higher too, the stalk provides a bit of shade/cover/protection ? It's a bit easier to remember where the seed is too. It is tiny.

Ok.
I just cut them and laid them on the ground where I would like some growing.
That's it? Should I sprinkle some dirt or something.
I'll figure this foxglove out later and get some more plants to harvest seeds from.

Thank you for the help folks.

Joel.

That's it. I don't cover mine with any soil. Altho, if the spirit moves me, I'll sometimes swish the soil/seeds around a bit.. Like one would tossle a child's hair. Not vigorously.....