Common Name: Lupine
Family: Fabiaceae
Native Range: The plant is found throughout the United States.
Zone: 3-7
Height: 18 to 36”
Spread: 12 to 36”
Bloom Time: May to July
Bloom Description: Purple, Blue, Pink, and White.
Sun: Full sun, tolerates light shade.
Water: Dry to Medium
Maintenance: Low
Attracts: Hummingbirds, butterflies, bumblebees, mason bees, miner bees, carpenter bees. The larvae of the Karner Blue Butterfly feed off Lupine foliage.
Lupines bloom early in the season, so overwintering pollinators are fond of it. Lupine is a long-lived cool-season beautiful perennial plant that grows 1 to 4 feet tall and has vibrant blue flowers. It tolerates a wide variety of soil types, including dry sandy soils, as well as moist, well-drained loams. As a legume, lupine will contribute to nitrogen fixation. The flowers vary from blue, purple, pink, and white. Hybrid varieties come in a variety of colors, but the wild blue lupine is the hardiest. Lupines like a moist area with good drainage. They do not like wet feet, so never plant them where there is standing water. Lupine can be started from seed, but the long tap root may cause difficulty when transplanting. When starting from seed, Lupines need cold stratification (cold treatment) and will also benefit from a gentle scaring of the seeds to speed germination.
Horticultural and Pollinator Information:
Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finders
http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=b764
USDA Forest Service
http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/forb/lupper/all.html
Family: Fabiaceae
Native Range: The plant is found throughout the United States.
Zone: 3-7
Height: 18 to 36”
Spread: 12 to 36”
Bloom Time: May to July
Bloom Description: Purple, Blue, Pink, and White.
Sun: Full sun, tolerates light shade.
Water: Dry to Medium
Maintenance: Low
Attracts: Hummingbirds, butterflies, bumblebees, mason bees, miner bees, carpenter bees. The larvae of the Karner Blue Butterfly feed off Lupine foliage.
Lupines bloom early in the season, so overwintering pollinators are fond of it. Lupine is a long-lived cool-season beautiful perennial plant that grows 1 to 4 feet tall and has vibrant blue flowers. It tolerates a wide variety of soil types, including dry sandy soils, as well as moist, well-drained loams. As a legume, lupine will contribute to nitrogen fixation. The flowers vary from blue, purple, pink, and white. Hybrid varieties come in a variety of colors, but the wild blue lupine is the hardiest. Lupines like a moist area with good drainage. They do not like wet feet, so never plant them where there is standing water. Lupine can be started from seed, but the long tap root may cause difficulty when transplanting. When starting from seed, Lupines need cold stratification (cold treatment) and will also benefit from a gentle scaring of the seeds to speed germination.
Horticultural and Pollinator Information:
Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finders
http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=b764
USDA Forest Service
http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/forb/lupper/all.html
