Delphinium 'Purple Velvet'
delphinium 'Purple Velvet'
'Purple Velvet' is a vigorous, branching, upright perennial, with large green leaves. Floriferous, with many blunt spikes to 85cm long. Flowers semi-double, to 7.5cm across, dark violet blue paling in the centres, eyes brown with very fine yellow hairs giving a velvety appearance
Size
Ultimate height
1–1.5 metresTime to ultimate height
2–5 yearsUltimate spread
0.1–0.5 metresGrowing conditions
Moisture
Moist but well–drained, Well–drainedpH
Acid, Alkaline, NeutralColour & scent
| Stem | Flower | Foliage | Fruit | |
| Spring | Green | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summer | Blue Purple | Green | ||
| Autumn | ||||
| Winter |
Position
- Full sun
Aspect
South–facing or West–facing or East–facing
Exposure
Sheltered Hardiness
H5Botanical details
- Family
- Ranunculaceae
- Native to the UK
- No
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Habit
- Columnar upright
- Potentially harmful
- Harmful if eaten. Wear gloves and other protective equipment when handling
- Genus
Delphinium can be annuals, biennials or perennials, with palmately lobed basal leaves and showy bowl-shaped flowers in spikes, racemes or panicles
- Name status
Accepted
How to grow
Cultivation
Grow in a fertile, well-drained soil in full sun; shelter from strong winds and stake well. Apply a balanced liquid every couple of weeks in the growing season. For best flower spikes thin shoots when 7cm high to leave a minimum of 2-3 shoots on young plants and 5-7 shoots on established plants. See staking: perennials and delphinium cultivation for further advice
Propagation
Propagate by taking pencil thick basal cuttings in early spring
Suggested planting locations and garden types
- City and courtyard gardens
- Cottage and informal garden
- Flower borders and beds
Pruning
Deadhead by cutting spent flower spikes back to small flowering side shoots. Cut down all growth to ground level after it has withered in autumn.
Pests
May be susceptible to aphids, earwigs, delphinium leaf miner, delphinium moth caterpillars, slugs, snails and caterpillars
Diseases
May be susceptible to powdery mildews, crown rot and a virus
Get involved
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