Red delphiniums
OVER the years, many breeders have strived to grow a red delphinium. One of the first to be introduced, back in the 1930s (and the only survivor from those days to still be available), is the lovely
D. x ruysii ‘Pink Sensation’. A second-wave of breeding in the 1950s, jointly conducted by Wageningen University in the Netherlands, and the RHS Garden at Wisley in Surrey, resulted in plants known today as the University Hybrids. Many more generations have been developed since, resulting in pink, red and orange-red shades. They all tend to be less vigorous than blue delphiniums, and possibly more prone to mildew. Look for ‘Princess Caroline’, ‘Red Caroline’ and the short-growing
D. nudicaule ‘Laurin’.