Planting, Growing, and Caring for Lupines
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Planting
Lupines prefer full sun; they’ll grow in light shade but won’t flower as profusely. They also prefer sandy, well-draining soil and can’t survive waterlogged conditions. Also, they can not tolerate heavy soils so be sure to loosen the soil up before planting.
When to Plant Lupines
- Plant in cool temperatures; lupine can not tolerate heat, humidity, or drought.
- Lupine seeds are sown in early spring or in the fall. Many gardeners prefer to plant in fall to enjoy them mid-spring.
- If starting seedlings indoors, you can transplant them when they are about 4 to 6 weeks old. At this age, they haven’t developed a long tap root and will have a better chance to survive.
How to Plant Lupines
- First, just loosen the soil for the lupines’ long tap roots to grow; loosen to a depth of about 1 to 1-1/2 feet; amend with organic matter and grit for good drainage.
- Before planting, soak seeds in a bowl of warm water for 24 to 48 hours to soften the tough seed coat, and then you can “scarify” the seeds to allow moisture to reach the seed; this means roughening the seeds between two sheets of sandpaper before planting. Scarifying the seeds greatly improves the odds of germination.
- To sow seeds, dig a hole 1/2 inch deeper than the seedling pot and twice as wide. Space seedlings for smaller varieties about 1 foot apart and larger varieties about 2 to 3 feet apart.
- Tamp down the seeds, ensuring good soil contact. Water, and if the weather is dry, water lightly until germination, which can take up to 10 days.
Types
There are over 200 wild species of lupine, and most are North American natives. These usually have blue, white, or yellow flowers.
Garden lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus), aka big-leaved lupine: blue, pink, and purple flowers; native to much of western North America; prefers moist environments.
Wild Lupine (L. perennis) is a blue perennial plant that grows in the eastern half of North America.
Texas Bluebonnet (L. texensis) is an annual plant with dark blue flowers with white markings that cover fields and roadsides in Texas every April.
Russell hybrid lupines (L. polyphyllus) also called garden lupines have been the basic perennial group from which all new hybrids are created. Be patient; it can take a year to begin its abundant blooms.
The Russell Lupine Mix seeds are easy to grow and the tall flowers bloom in a variety of colors.
Lupine Woodfield Hybrids are perennial plants that come in deeper shades and beautiful bi-colored blooms.
Dwarf hybrids ‘Dwarf Lulu’ and ‘Minarette’ grow only to 1 ½ to 2 feet tall. Excellent for small gardens, containers, or the front of beds and borders. Plants grow to 20 inches tall. Winter hardy to Zone 4.
Catherine Boeckmann
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After the Lupins have finished blooming, can I transplant to another garden without the plant dying??
I bought a flowering lupine but it fell and top broke how can I care for it
Just bought a lupine plant. Can I pot it in a large container
What am I missing? I'm just a little confused, how do you soak the seeds in WARM water for 1 to 2 days? The water will cool down after a few minutes unless there's some sort of heat source, won't it?
Hi Denise,
You want to start soaking lupine seeds in warm water. The key is to make sure you are not starting with cold water. The water will cool down over the soaking time, so keep it in a location that is warm. If you feel that the water has cooled down significantly you can certainly freshen with warm water during the soaking time.
In VT after the Lupine have gone to seed along the roadways, I collect the seeds take them to my fields and scatter mimicking what goes on naturally. Some tale, many don't. In several places I didn't scatter, suddenly the plant grows. Must have been either bird or animal was the culprit doing natures thing. Trying to plant the seeds hasn't worked well. Mother Nature to the rescue. In Northern VT Newark, they grow wild greatly. Family has a field full of them. Seeds get scattered by the mowing of the fields. Didn't know the seeds were eatable.
During the spring bloom Lupines grow along the roads and stretch for many miles along Hwy 28 and junction with Hwy 2 in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and well into Wisconsin following the Lake Superior shore to Minnesota. The drive is a pleasure and the Lupine bloom makes it worth planning travel ahead and bring your camera.
I my lupin seeds germinated after 6 days and I didn't soak them or fiddle with sand paper.
Seems like a bizarre piece of advice not sure if originates from ancient times and no one ever questioned its validity.
Lupins self seed naturally and seeds need no help from a sand paper ! I suggest you probably should remove that as it sounds a bit silly.
In self-seeding Lupines the seed spends fall and winter on the ground. That usually includes a few feet of snow for 4 months in northern lower Michigan. I collect and save seeds properly and with care. A little soak to get the winter off is light duty compared to the wild thing.
Actually it is not silly at all. Stratification and scarification are recommended for many plant seeds since those processes greatly improve germination rates.
