How to Get Delphiniums to Bloom Twice in One Season

If you want a second set of blooms after your delphiniums have flowered, use this simple trick.

For more delphinium growing tips, also see Delphiniums: Growing Tips and Tricks.

How to Make Delphiniums Bloom Twice in One Season

Delphinium seeds - If you love delphiniums and wish the beautiful, tall, blue flowers would last throughout the summer. They do not, of course, but with this simple tip, you can actually get these gorgeous, flowering giants to bloom a second time within the same growing season.

Delphinium | Genus: Delphinium

Various colors of flowering delphiniums.

Delphinium Growing Guide
Herbaceous perennial
• Hardiness zones 3a to 8b
• Full or part sun
• Well-draining loam is best
• Native to North America and African mountains and considered non-invasive
• Chill dampened seeds for better germination

Shop Online: Buy delphinium seeds at Botanical Interests (US shipping)

Here’s how it works. You have to be brave. When a delphinium has finished blooming, if left alone, the flower head is going to gradually turn to seed.

Your choice is, do you want seeds or second blooms? If you leave things alone, you will still get both, but the theory is, the second blooms may be bigger and better if the plant can direct all its energy into new growth instead of seed production.

Want Seeds?

If you want seeds, you just have to leave it and wait. The plant will put its energy into seed production.

Want Blooms?

If you want more blooms, it’s a bit of a race against time, before fall frosts set in.

As soon as the flowers pass their peak, you have to remove the entire flower stalk. By doing this, the plant will now put all its energy into sending up more flower shoots instead of working on seed production. It also just makes the plant look nicer.
To remove the old flowers, follow a stalk all the way to the ground and cut it off as close to the ground as possible. Do not remove any surrounding leaves or foliage.
It’s a bit sad to do, as even the aging blooms can be very pretty, but, suck it up, Buttercup, as the saying goes, put the cuttings on display somewhere, and, unless something weird happens, you will probably have a second set of blooms before the frosts set in. The sooner I snip off the first set of blooms, the more success I seem to have with round two.

And that’s it.

If you have several plants, you can always choose the best ones for seed saving and the rest for second blooms.