Delphinium andersonii

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1) Anemone, Aquilegia, Delphinium, and other Ranunculaceae

In the dry west one of the more common Delphiniums found in dry mountain foot hills is Delphinium andersonii. It starts to show green rosettes of foliage as early as March in the western Sierra foot hills at about the 5000' to 7000' elevations. By early May the 24"-30" wands are making their presence known. Their calling cards are, airy vertical wands studded in brilliant blue blossoms.
This Delphinium is summer dormant, so works well as a companion plant for late bloomers. I use it planted with Opuntias, Cylindropuntias and Spuria Iris. I find it easy to grow and have it seeding around sparingly. It can take very dry conditions in it's dormant state. With adequate spring moisture it puts on a month long display.

Comments

Lori S.'s picture

Lori S. (not verified)

Fri, 05/21/2010 - 3:18pm

The flowers are stunning!  Thanks for posting it, John.

Trond Hoy's picture

Trond Hoy

Sat, 05/22/2010 - 1:00pm

When I saw this the color reminded me of one Delphinium I saw on Mt Kenya, East Africa. But the color was a paler blue of that species.
Excuse for the not-so-good picture.

John P. Weiser's picture

John P. Weiser

Sat, 05/22/2010 - 4:31pm

Hoy
I never thought about Delphiniums growing in Africa. Thank you for sharing and educating me.

Your shot reminds me of some of the California desert Delphiniums with pale colored flowers Delphinium inopinum in particular.

Trond Hoy's picture

Trond Hoy

Sun, 05/23/2010 - 12:07pm
Weiser wrote:

Your shot reminds me of some of the California desert Delphiniums with pale colored flowers Delphinium inopinum in particular.

May the climate have something to do with the color? My shot was from a bush fire area and I saw this species most often in dry often recently burnt areas.

Todd Boland's picture

Todd Boland

Mon, 05/24/2010 - 6:06am

John, that Delphinium is electric!  Trond, that is a funky African species...nice pastel shade.  I too never knew delphiniums were native to Africa.

Trond Hoy's picture

Trond Hoy

Mon, 05/24/2010 - 8:44am
Todd wrote:

John, that Delphinium is electric!  Trond, that is a funky African species...nice pastel shade.  I too never knew delphiniums were native to Africa.

I didn't know either - before I found them iin the alpine zone of Mt Kenya, 3000m+.  Here's another picture - not quite sharp and with unsightly dead shrub in the background.