Did you know that delphinium and larkspur are brother and sister? Both are from the buttercup family – Ranunculaceae. Larkspur is the annual genus of the winter-hardy perennial genus, Delphinium. Hence their similar form and colours, which range from white, pink and coral to blue, lilac and dark purple.
Developed by botanists over the last century, there are now about 300 species of Delphiniums, growing from a mere 10 cm to 2m tall – the latter in select Dutch glasshouses.
The Reineri grower and breeder, Nico Wigchert, works hard to protect his delphiniums from mildew, to which all delphiniums are prone, even though new varieties, particularly the Dewi (Nico’s own breeds - De for Delphinium, wi for Wigchert), are more resistant than ever before. Nico has invented his own way of watering delphiniums. He sends a tide of water every hour onto the rhizomes to keep them moist, but not humid, as it is the humidity that brings on mildew.
Furthermore,he has installed a special blow dryer to gently dry the flowers before transportation, for optimum care.
Like wild flowers, delphiniums are naturally programmed to cell destruction upon picking which results in the petals dropping. To prevent this, once picked, Nico conditions his flowers for eight to 10 hours in a special solution, after which Reineri transports them in fresh, clean water to guarantee their expected vase life of 10 days. Renowned as the creator of a wide range of Dewi delphiniums, including the famed Coral Sunset, Nico grows his plants both outdoors and in the glasshouse. The outdoor-grown are shorter and stronger, while the glasshouse-grown are very tall up to 2m and quite spectacular. Recently, Reineri named Nico’s most beautiful new species “Araik” after Russian floral designer, Araik Galstyan, and this award winning delphinium has since earned its place in the Hall of Fame.
To view Reineri’s range of delphiniums, please contact Lucinda Sanderson on 07925 695081 or lucinda.sanderson@reineri.nl
Fun Facts
- Centuries ago, blue delphiniums were used to make dyes and ink.
- Delphinium seeds repel hair lice and nits.
- The name is derived from “delphis”– latin for “dolphin” – after the buds’ spur-shaped resemblance to a dolphin.
- They are native to the northern hemisphere and mountains of tropical Africa.
- Delphinium juice repels witches and scorpions!
- At least one third of the flowers must be open when picked, or the remaining buds will never open.
- Wild-growing larkspur causes cattle poisoning in the USA.
- All parts of the plant are highly toxic, so be careful if you have small children in the garden.
