The Winning Delphinium Series. Fleuroselect's beautiful 2000 cutflower Gold Medal Winner carries a name which is entirely appropriate to its year of introduction; 'Sydney' has won Gold before the Olympic medals in Sydney have even been contested! The introduction of the 'Sydney' series heralds a major breakthrough for the Delphinium in the cut flower market. 'Sydney' is the first larkspur that is truly suitable for professional greenhouse cultivation. Grown under glass, the surprisingly short cultivation period can be programmed, resulting in flowers that can be cut at planned periods throughout the season.
In detail
For the first time, Delphiniums can be programmed to flower in the early and late summer periods - the commercial Delphinium 'season' is effectively doubled! Florists will delight in being able to include the tall, richly flowering blooms in their late spring and early autumn bouquets, in addition to the traditional summer arrangements. 'Sydney' is a winner in the greenhouse and a winner in the vase! 'Sydney' series is characterised by a uniform flower spike with an excellent, full flowering length and full, double flowers presenting a rich mass of colour. Its dwarf height of approximately 120cm is extremely favourable for transportation. The Gold Medal Winner, 'Sydney Purple', won additional praise for its new, deep rich colour, whilst 'Sydney White' and 'Sydney Rose' also attracted many compliments on their beauty and were both awarded Quality Marks.
Delphinium or larkspur belongs to the family of Ranunculaceae and originates in Europe, Asia and North America. Both annual and perennial forms are known. The striking colours, long spikes and straight stems, make Delphinium consolida a popular product for outdoor cultivation by professional cutflower growers with the limitation that the season is short. The new Sydney series is the first Delphinium consolida suitable for programmable greenhouse cultivation. This considerably lengthens the period when delphiniums are available, stimulating the sale of the summer flowers and mixed summer bouquets. The 'Sydney' series therefore scored highly with the Fleuroselect judges, the stunning purple variety being awarded the prestigious Fleuroselect Gold Medal. High marks were also given to 'Sydney Rose' and 'Sydney White' which both received Fleuroselect Quality Marks indicating that a better rose or white delphinium does not exist. Not only the long season but also the uniformity of the blooms along the length of the whole spike mean that 'Sydney' is good news for the cutflower grower, the florist and of course the consumer. These delphiniums will soon win their place in both trendy and traditional flower arrangements. We should not forget in addition that Delphinium consolida and therefore The Sydneys are excellent hardy perennials and look wonderful in a country garden or a beautiful Victorian garden. Sown inside in January at 16°C, the seedlings can be planted out in April in a sunny spot. They will flower in August of the first year, but will bloom profusely from June/July of the following year. The flowers of 'Sydney Purple', 'Rose' and 'White' will at the same time delight in wonderful bouquets where they will prove that they have earned their Fleuroselect Gold Medal. Growers can sow from January to May at 16°C for the first week. The temperature should then be raised to 22°C and lowered again to 16°C. 64 young plants per m² can then planted out and grown on at 12-15°C. Flowers can be picked 8 to 12 weeks after planting.
