Delphinium Splitting at base of stem

davewatts

My newest delphinium is splitting at the base, any idea of what has caused this? I thought maybe slugs?

Fairygirl

Most likely Dave. They love them.
I'm afraid the large amount of slug pellets round the plant is often counter productive as it can attract them. If you use just a few, it's more effective.
Delphiniums are tricky - if you pot them on into bigger pots before planting, they're more able to shrug off damage from slugs, but they're very vulnerable as small plants, or when newly emerging in spring.

punkdoc

I agree.
There is also a possibility, that if the main stem is tall, it may have flopped [ scientific term ] about in the wind, and the stem was split that way.