Lupine Will Adorn Both Your Garden and Vase

Lupinus polyphyllus (sometimes also called "lupin" or "lupine") is a perennial plant that came to us from America and has become naturalised in our climate. Occasionally we can see wild lupins on sunny slopes, where they attract attention with their bright colours.

We can very easily grow them from seed in the garden, they are also suitable for cutting - they look very nice in combination with meadow flowers. Half-bloomed inflorescences are probably most suitable for this purpose, as they gradually bloom towards the top and thus last for several days.

In the garden we can grow both cultivated and wild lupins, with the bred varieties being more compact and having large flowers in a wide variety of colours. Wild lupins are also poisonous.

Caution: wild lupins contain large amounts of toxic substances - just a few seeds can cause fatal poisoning, and the rest of the plant is poisonous too. However, bred cultivars are completely safe, often used as valuable fodder, and their use in human nutrition is also being considered.

Location and Care

For lupins we choose a sunny location (not necessarily full sun all day), they also tolerate partial shade. The soil should be deep and well-drained, without large amounts of lime.

If you have more acidic soil, lupins will do well - unlike most plants, lupins tolerate acidity very well. If the soil is poorer, lupins will benefit from occasional fertilisation, especially with phosphorus and micronutrients.

Lupins are most commonly grown from seed, which we sow from when the soil thaws until June at the latest. At home we can pre-cultivate them from February onwards, so we can see flowers already in the first year, otherwise they bloom from the second year.

Lupins are an unmissable dominant element of the garden during flowering. We can sow them individually, in groups or in combination with lower flowering plants.

Lupins Burst with Colours

You can get lupins in a wide variety of colours and shades. The most common in wild lupins are blue and blue-violet, but bred cultivars are available in almost all colours - white, yellow, various shades of pink and red, through to the mentioned blue or purple.

Various colour mixtures are also available, which form colourful groups after planting. If you remove faded flowers, a vigorous plant will manage to bloom again. Even before or after flowering, lupins are decorative with their leaves.

Think ahead to the coming season, buy flower seeds now!

Written by Eliška Kadlecová