Delphinium Magic Fountains
Delphinium (Magic Fountains Series) · Ranunculaceae
A dwarf strain with full-sized flowers on spires only waist high, in the whole delphinium range of blues, lavender, pink and white.
- Size
- 3 ft tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 7
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late June to late July
- Pets
- Toxic (severe)
- Job in a bed
- Accent
A bed built around delphinium Magic Fountains
The planner designed this bed around delphinium Magic Fountains when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why delphinium Magic Fountains stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Delphinium Magic Fountains × 3, blue
- 2 Lingonberry × 8, pink
- 3 Sea thrift × 12, white
- 4 Garden phlox 'David' × 3, white
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Frikart's aster 'Monch' × 3, lavender
- 7 Surprise lily × 12, pink
Why this plant
- The only spires. The others are bells, globes, dense clusters and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only blue.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 3 ft it is one of the taller plants here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to Frikart's aster 'Monch' (2½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one clump. A single spire is too slight to hold a place alone, so here the accent is a clump.
Why now
- In flower for six weeks. From late June to late July.
- Fills a gap. For three of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a cottage garden: 23 of the 30 plants (77%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. The bed is tied together by its repeats: two kinds come round again along it, lingonberry and sea thrift. Silver sage, lingonberry and sea thrift finish the front edge.
The planner's own design check: 10 Excellent, 6 Good, 1 Satisfactory.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where delphinium Magic Fountains goes in a border
At 3 ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium tall (2½ to 3 ft).
Its job: accent. An upright plant used singly, like a punctuation mark, and repeated at intervals to give the bed rhythm.
The delphinium for a windy garden or a small bed: short enough to stand without stakes in most places. Cut the first spires down as they fade for a second, smaller show in autumn.
- Delphinium spires without staking
- Small borders
- Containers
What to plant with delphinium Magic Fountains
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Lady's mantle: in flower together for three weeks, from late June; a low mound at the foot of its spires; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
- Shasta daisy 'Becky': in flower together for four weeks, from early July.
- Garden phlox: in flower together for two weeks, from mid July; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about delphinium Magic Fountains
Does delphinium Magic Fountains need sun or shade?
Delphinium Magic Fountains grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and plenty of water.
What zones does delphinium Magic Fountains grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 7. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Above zone 7 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does delphinium Magic Fountains flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to late July. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 3 | Late June to early August |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Late June to early August |
| Zone 5 | Late June to late July |
| Zone 6 | Late June to late July |
| Zone 7 | Mid June to mid July |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should delphinium Magic Fountains be planted?
16 in (40 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 18 in (45 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 3 ft (90 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many delphinium Magic Fountains plants do I need?
At 16 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 7 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 8 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 21 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one at a time, repeated along the bed at intervals; a slender one reads better as a clump of three.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is delphinium Magic Fountains poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: severe toxicity to people, dogs, cats and horses. All parts, especially the young growth and seeds, are highly poisonous if eaten.
Rated from the ASPCA. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
What flowers after delphinium Magic Fountains?
Delphinium Magic Fountains is over by late July. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Garden phlox: from mid July to early September, 3½ ft tall (a recorded partner).
- Lilyturf: from early August to mid September, 16 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Black-eyed Susan 'Goldsturm': from late July to late September, 2 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does delphinium Magic Fountains look like in winter?
Delphinium Magic Fountains dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Delphinium
- Chinese delphinium 'Blue Butterfly' Delphinium grandiflorum 'Blue Butterfly'
- Delphinium Delphinium elatum
- Delphinium Pacific Giants Delphinium (Pacific Giant Group)
- Tall larkspur Delphinium exaltatum
In these guides
- Garden plants toxic to cats
- Garden plants toxic to dogs
- Plants with spires: vertical accents
- Plants with blue flowers
- Plants for a white garden
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 3 ft (90 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 16 in (40 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium tall (2½ to 3 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Late June to late July; upright spires; blue, purple, pink, white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 7
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- High
- Feeding
- Moderate, in spring
- Family
- Ranunculaceae
Checked against ASPCA poison lists. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.