Delphiniums not growing....help

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missiguy72 Cookeville , TN(Zone 5b) Jul 05, 2011

I bought 2 Blue Mirror Delphiniums early last month (June). They are not growing. They were about 3 inches tall when I bought them. I planted them in my largest flower bed and they have plenty of room for growth. They have only grown about an inch and one is starting to dry out/ kind of wilt. They are in a mostly sunny area. I do live in an area that used to be part of one of Indiana's largest rivers. My soil is okay, at least I think, but it does have clay and river rocks in it. I make sure to remove as many of these rocks as possible- big and small. There is also about 2 inches of mulch in my flower bed. Any advice or ideas?

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Jul 05, 2011

For the ones that are looking healthy you probably just need to be patient--plants need some time to get their roots going before they'll do much of anything else. For the one that's drying up & wilting it could be transplant shock which is perfectly normal when you plant things especially in summer/hot weather, but since your plants are so small I would consider trying to rig up something to protect them from the sun on hot days. Also check on your watering--those could also be symptoms of too much or too little water.

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WeeNel Ayrshire Scotland, United Kingdom Jul 05, 2011

Delphiniums like a rich soil with plenty of organic matter added and this in turn feeds AND helps hold onto moisture. As Ecrane has said, check out your soil by sticking your finger into it, especially after you have watered, most times when you do the finger test the top half inch of soil is damp but way down at the roots, the soil is bone dry, It is more important to do this with your type of soil as clay can hold onto water then when the sun heats it up, the soil Dries out and cracks or looses the air it holds that all plants need, it is also harder for nutrients to get to the roots plants need.
Do a real test on your soil. if it's too wet, add some fine grit to help drainage, if too dry, add some organic matter and at the same time a handful of multi purpose feed would help get the plants off to a good start, but don't over feed or you end up with very tender new growth and then the sun / wind etc comes along and kills this tender growth.
I also think you need to be patient as perennials take at least a year to get their roots to grow and then the next year they will have much stronger flowers.
My Dad for instance would never let any new perennials flower first year as he wanted the plants to bulk up in the roots before they flowered, he always had wonderfully lush herbaceous borders this way.
Good luck. WeeNel.

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missiguy72 Cookeville , TN(Zone 5b) Jul 05, 2011

Thanks guys

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