Notebook continued


Delightful delphiniums


Delphinium elatum, the common garden variety delphinium, is a powerfully poisonous plant, containing an alkaloid called delphinine.


comes from the Greek delphis, for dolphin. (Larkspur, a variety of delphinium was so called by the British because they believed its flower resembled the claw of a lark.) Del- phs signify an open heart and ardent attach- ment. Larkspurs project lightness and swift- ness. Delphinium is July’s birth flower. Although it has a reputation for good,


D


few are aware that Delphinium elatum, the common garden variety delphinium, is a powerfully poisonous plant, containing an alkaloid called delphinine. This alkaloid has properties very like those drawn from Aco- nitum (monkshood), although a bit weaker. Nevertheless, delphinine kills in much the same way, attacking the heart. Prescribed in minute quantities by those who know their art, however, delphinine has been used to treat dropsy (a weakening of the heart that causes water to build in the body), to treat gout, and as a parasiticide. Indeed, it was used effectively during World War I to treat lice and their nits in the hair. Juice from delphinium leaves is said relieve bleeding hemorrhoids and relieve spasmodic asthma, Juice from the flowers was used to relieve colic in babies. Delphinium is the only flower that ever


had its own dedicated art show. Edward Ste- ichen (1879 to 1973) was, by day, a fashion photographer for Condé Nast publications, such as Vogue and Vanity Fair, but on his own time, he was a grower of delphiniums. He mounted a show in the Museum of Mod- ern Art in the summer of 1936, showing his seven-foot tall delphiniums. To get them that tall, he fed them a cocktail of colchinine (a derivative from the autumn crocus. Cro- cus is also used to treat gout). Colchinine is a chemical mutagen that promotes chro-


8 • Summer 2012


elphiniums were named by the Greeks for the loveliest creature of the sea. The word delphinium


Delphs are among the most beautiful plants in our gardens. We tend to take them for granted, but getting up close and personal never fails to reveal new beauty and lovely surprises.


mosome doubling. Steichen’s delphs were giants of their times and his Delphinium ‘Connecticut Yankee’, named in honour of Mark Twain, is still available today. Delphiniums were useful in other ways,


too. The flowers were ground into powder then mixed with alum to make a very good blue ink. The flowers were also used to make blue dye to colour yarns and other fabrics. If you’re growing delphiniums, they are happiest in deep rich soil with even mois- ture. They are heavy feeders enjoying a diet of compost, fortified by a periodic binge on fertilizer. In spite of all this nourishment, alas, they are short lived, losing some of their vitality after the second or third year. If they don’t self-sow in your garden, re-plant a few each year. You can also take basal cut- tings to propagate your favourites. The delphinium leaf tier, Polychrysia Es- meralda, is a golden winged moth that in- fests delphiniums (and monkshood, larkspur and globeflower) by overwintering near the bottom of their hollow stems then emerging to create silken nets of leaves and blossoms.


Then the larvae that they lay peacefully eat their way into the flower buds, destroying the buds as they do so. Dispose of the worms by hand and cut your delphs to the ground in fall to annihilate their winter home. The most common disease is sclerotinia


rot, a fungus that, given the chance to ma- ture, will turn black before it produces its stone-like spores that can drop and remain in the soil for many years. Aster yellows also attack delphiniums. It can turn the leaves yellow and wilts the plant. There are many choices of delphinium,


but a few worth trying would include the earliest hybrids, ‘Blackmore and Langdon’, introduced in England in 1905. The flow- ers are pastel blue, white, lavender, violet and indigo. ‘Pacific Coast Giants’ are seven feet tall and come in blue and pink. ‘Magic Fountains’ are only about 30 inches tall. ‘Blue Mirror’ is gentian blue. ‘Green Twist’ is creamy white with green overtones. If you love delphiniums, there are del- phinium clubs to join and learn from. Try www.ondelphiniums.com. `


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