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Delphinium

Delphinium Black Knight Group

• Position: full sun
• Soil: fertile, well-drained soil
• Rate of growth: average
• Flowering period: June and July
• Hardiness: fully hardy
  
  Stately spires of semi-double, deep purple flowers with black eyes open in June and July on tall stems with pretty, deeply cut leaves. These dark-eyed delphiniums look fantastic planted in bold clumps as part of a cottage-garden scheme or towards the back of a well-drained, sunny border, where they will add height and bold splashes of colour. They make excellent, if short-lived cut flowers.
  
  
• Garden care: Protect young foliage against slug and snail damage in spring. Stake with bamboo canes in mid-spring, before the flowers appear. During the growing season, apply a balanced liquid fertiliser every 2-3 weeks and wearing gloves cut back the faded flower-stems to a flowering side-shoot to encourage repeat flowering. At the end of autumn cut back and compost the faded flower stems.