The Delphinium SocietyRegistered Charity: 259202

Membership SecretaryDr Roger D Beauchamp FLS FIHort2 The GroveIckenham, UxbridgeMiddlesex UB108QH UKa +44 (0)1895 464694E: membership@delphinium-society.co.uk(For membership only)

To All Members (April 2014)

The Future of Breeding New Strains in the SocietyFuture Possible Trials Within the Society

You may have heard that in future there will be no annual set trials of delphiniums at the RHS Garden, Wisley. Inthe autumn of 2014 we may, however, have good offsetting news for you, offsetting in the sense that it willameliorate the loss of the annual trials.

As there are insufficient numbers of new cultivars coming forward for trial, a concentration of thought about thisimportant fact is being applied to this problem. Yes, there are still some new cultivars coming forward forregistration but what we must do as a Society is to encourage interest in the procedures involved in the breeding ofplants. This, in fact, is at the core of our developing educational programme and we hope that younger members inparticular will take up the challenge. You will see listed in the 2014 Year Book the latest registration of cultivars.The Society has a fine tradition of the breeding of new hybrid elatum delphiniums and we still have a hard,essential, core of such people. In the UK this work has been going on since the early 1880s, some 135 years, andthe Society became progressively involved from its inception in 1928.

It is undeniably the case that a careful breeding programme which is well recorded can bring immense satisfactionto those involved when they see the results of their work. This can be seen annually if the programme is wellmaintained by dedicated people. It is certainly the case that only a very few people within the Society will, at anyone period, become involved in such work and it is almost certainly true that if the Society is not seen to beproactive in stimulating this work then lethargy will set in. A great tradition could well be lost. If that tradition islost then surely the Society will be largely lost. We must maximise the potential interest.

So, what should be the main scope of breeding work in the Society? We must pay primary attention to producinggood new cultivars of our famous hybrid elatum strain and facilitate that aim by setting up some kind ofassessment for purposes of registration. We must also retrace historical steps by remembering how our hybridstrain came into being in the first place. That was done by hybridisation from species. And there we have aproblem because we do not know for certain the species which were involved in the original crosses. Yet, in littlemore than 25 years William Kelway achieved remarkable results from the species he selected. Now his records areostensibly lost. This is an object lesson for us all and I would hope that records of future work on species can beachieved within the Society. We now know so much more about species than we have done in the past so a wayforward would be to establish good stocks of species which would be grown by several members so as to avoid lossto cultivation. From these we could develop a breeding programme which would not necessarily involve D. elatumitself.

This letter is very much an opening presentation so it does not treat in any depth what has to be done in the future.If any member is interested, or willing, to get involved, would they please get in touch with me in the first instance.Hopefully we might be able to arrange a meeting place, perhaps even a meeting during the afternoon of the 2014Wisley show. Centrally, however, we must make a start on this work.

I hope I may hear from some of you.

Roger D BeauchampMembership, Promotions & Publicity Secretary

The Delphinium SocietyRegistered Charity: 259202

To Members in the USA and Canada

You will realise from what is written overleaf that times are changing in the Society, We are lookinggenerally to the future of plant breeding in the Society and you members may be able to help me in somefundamental investigations into delphinium species. One which is of interest to me currently and which Iwould like to establish in plant collections is Delphinium barbeyii, a blue flowered species which appears,from photographs, to have a spike (raceme) of uniformly spaced florets. I am currently trying togerminate D. californicum ssp interius, a white flowered species with a uniform spike. We do, of course,have ready access to D. nudicaule and D. cardinale. My basic aim is to produce Fl hybrids from selectedspecies and any help which members can give me in identifying and locating species and perhaps sendingme seed would be appreciated.

I fully appreciate the vast areas of country which could be involved but there may be members in aposition to advise me. This will aid greatly in developing a plant breeding program in the Society.

I am still trying to get seed of D. wellbyii and D. leroyi, both of which are from East Africa. Knowing howmuch of a global village we are becoming it is just possible that someone can help me with these twospecies which I am particularly wanting to get for the scent they produce.

My best wishes to you all and I hope you will find this year's Year Book of interest. Please remember I willbe glad to hear from you for possible letters in the 2014 Autumn Bulletin and beyond.

Roger D BeauchampMembership, Promotions & Publicity Secretary2 The Grove, Ickenham, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB10 8QH UKTel: +44(0)1895464694E: membership@delphinium-society.co.uk

14th April 2014