How to grow lupines? A complete guide to cultivation methods and precautions
Lupine is a member of the Fabaceae family, and like the bellflower it comes in a great many varieties, with bright and beautiful colors. It also carries a very lovely symbolic meaning, representing maternal love. Speaking of which, many gardeners must be wanting to grow it themselves at home. But gardening friends do not have a very deep understanding of the correct way to grow lupines, so today let us learn about it together.
How to grow lupines
1. Soil selection
Lupines like a cool, sunny environment and can tolerate shade. Their roots are fairly well developed, and they are easy to grow in loose, fertile, well-drained acidic sandy loam.
2. Sowing time
Lupines are mostly propagated from seed and can be sown in both spring and autumn, but if sown in spring, the plants enter their peak growing season in summer, and the scorching weather will affect growth, leading to fewer flowers and shorter flower spikes, which hurts the ornamental effect. Under natural conditions, sowing in autumn means earlier flowering and better growth, and they will bloom in April and June of the following year.
3. Flower pot selection
Lupine seedlings take one month to become mature plants, and they have well-developed roots. When transplanting, be careful to keep the original soil, which helps the plants recover after transplanting. If growing them in pots, choose a deep pot to make root growth easier. 4. Daily management: For potted lupines, be careful to cut off spent flowers and dead leaves, control water and fertilizer well, and provide shade to ensure the lupines get safely through the summer.
Lupine cultivation methods and precautions
I. Lupine cultivation methods
1. Soil and pot requirements
The soil used for potted plants at home is not the same as that in open ground; choose loose, fertile soil. In northern regions, choose acidic soil; if the soil is alkaline, treat it before use. Although lupine roots are fairly well developed, their soil requirements cannot be neglected either.
Lupines take one month to go from seedling to mature plant, so it is best to choose a somewhat deeper flower pot to promote root growth.
2. Sowing methods
Spring sowing: The seeds sprout relatively quickly, but the plants enter a vigorous growth period in summer; however, summer temperatures are higher and the environment is muggy, and the scorching weather will inhibit lupine growth, leading to fewer flowers and fewer flower spikes, with a poor ornamental effect.
Autumn sowing: When winter arrives, keep the plants indoors, ensure a suitable temperature, and they will grow quickly, flower early and grow well, and will be able to bloom in April or June of the following year.
3. Daily care
For foreign wild varieties like lupines, they are not as delicate as cultivated flowers; water them occasionally and they will not die even without fertilizer. As long as you do not overdo it, lupines will grow very well.
During the lupine growing period, promptly cut off spent flowers and dead leaves, and provide shade to ensure the lupines get safely through the summer; apart from that there are basically no major problems.
II. Lupine cultivation precautions
1. A cool environment
Lupines are perennial plants and prefer a relatively cool environment. In summer, when temperatures are high, provide shade to prevent the high heat and strong sun from scorching the leaves. If you find leaves turning yellow, promptly remove them.
2. Cold protection
Lupines have a certain cold resistance, but only above 0°C. Before overwintering, promptly move potted plants indoors to a warm place and keep the temperature above 5°C to prevent the leaves from being damaged by frost.
Complete list of lupine varieties
1. Yellow lupine
Flowers yellow, fragrant; seeds gray or black, with a thousand-grain weight of 120-160 grams. Strong drought tolerance, grows well in sandy soil, is relatively sensitive to calcareous soil and prone to chlorosis. The stems and leaves contain alkaloids, and the alkaloid content differs in different growing environments; varieties with an alkaloid content over 0.3% should not be used as feed.
2. Narrow-leaved lupine
Stems 1-1.5 m tall, with many branches. The flowers are white or purple, and when the plant is flowering, its alkaloid content is at its highest.
3. White lupine
Hairy. Leaflets 5-7, obovate-oblong, with ciliate margins. Flowers white or slightly tinged with blue, calyx not split. Seeds white, round. The alkaloid content is relatively low.
4. Gallery
A compact dwarf variety, also the latest early-flowering variety bred on the market, with a height of 50-60 cm. The flower spikes are neat and robust, with up to 12 flower stems, and the flower colors are rich (red, pink, yellow, blue and white). Sown in January or February, it can bloom the same year; it can be sown in either spring or autumn, and is suitable for potted ornamental display.
5. Ribbon
A tall variety, with a height of 100-130 cm, a late flowering period, strong growth and many flower colors; suitable for open-ground planting and perennial ornamental use.
Introduction to lupines
1. Other names
The formal name of lupine is Lupinus, and it is sometimes also called qiutengcao or langdou.
2. Growth habits
Lupines like a cool, sunny environment, fear heat and tolerate shade. Lupines are planted fairly deep, and their roots have root nodules that can absorb nitrogen.
Lupines grow in sandy soil; for pots they require deep, well-drained soil that is slightly acidic, and they will grow poorly in neutral or alkaline soil.
3. Flower language
Maternal love, a greedy heart, bitterness, sorrow, fantasy, happiness.
That is all for the lupine cultivation methods; have you learned them? Lupines like a growing environment with plenty of light and good ventilation. Because their roots are very well developed, the soil aspect also cannot be neglected. On the next Mother's Day, gardening friends can give the lupines they grew themselves to their dear mothers.