Perennial lupine: planting and care

Have you ever driven out of Moscow on the M4 highway in mid-May? A few kilometers past the Moscow Ring Road, the lawns along the road take on a blue-violet hue. This is how unpretentious flowers bloom, holding their heads high. This is perennial lupine. We'll discuss planting and care, photos, diseases, and pests below.

Description

Lupine is native to the Mediterranean, Africa, and South America. It can grow not only on flat lands but also at altitudes of nearly five kilometers and in the desert.

The name lupine translates from Latin as "wolf," and in Russian it's sometimes called "wolfberry." It belongs to the legume family and can be found as either a herbaceous or a shrub.

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It has long roots that go deeper than 2 m.

Like other beans, it can absorb and process nitrogen through the shoots on its roots, saturating the soil with it.

The bush is erect, the leaves are palmate and green.

The height of the plant depends on the variety.

The inflorescences are large, with numerous flowers of varying colors. Some species are bicolor or gradually transition from one color to another. The flowering period of perennial lupine lasts about a month.

The seeds are hidden in bean-shaped capsules.

Chemical composition

Lupine seeds contain protein (42.1%), fat (8.6%), alkaloids (lupanine – up to 3.5%, as well as lupinine, luranine, hydroxylupanine, angustifolin), carotene, flavonoids, sugars, starch, fiber, ash, calcium, nitrogen-free extractive substances, etc.

Tannins, alkaloids, amino acids (aspartic, glutamic, etc.), and fiber were found throughout the above-ground part of the plant.

The plant's leaves contain up to 2% of the alkaloid lupanine and flavonoids. The chemical composition of lupine root is virtually unknown.

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Methods of planting seeds

Perennial lupine responds well to care. Planting and caring for it don't require much skill. Photos of it capture the beauty of the flowerbed. And from seed, you can quickly obtain excellent planting material.

Lupines can be planted in a variety of ways, depending on the effect and flowering time you want to achieve.

1. In the ground in autumn.
2. Into the soil in spring.
3. For seedlings.

The selection of materials and soil, as well as the planting steps, are the same. We'll discuss these in more detail when growing seedlings. However, there are some special considerations, which we'll discuss.

Planting in the ground in autumn

Prepare the site in advance by removing weeds, adding fertilizer and good soil.

The seeds are scattered over the surface and sprinkled with a layer of peat.

Over the winter they will undergo the necessary treatment and will delight you with flowering in the first season.

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Spring plantings

If lupine is planted in a flowerbed in the spring, it can be done as early as early May. The seeds and plants are frost-resistant down to -4 degrees Celsius.

Unfortunately, in the summer you will only get green mass, and flowers next year.

Planting seeds for seedlings

Perennial lupines not only improve the appearance of a plot but also the soil, so planting them is essential, especially in heavy soils. And caring for them becomes a pleasure. Photos of seedlings being grown can be seen below.

If gardeners want lupine to bloom in the first year after planting, they can sow the seeds in containers in March or April. Lupines don't like being transplanted, so try to select pots in which they will grow until they're ready to be planted in the garden. It's best to sow the seeds in peat containers. They should be replanted along with the seeds.

To land, you need to follow these steps:

• Select containers for planting.
• Treat with a weak solution of manganese.
• Prepare the soil. Place drainage at the bottom of the pot to prevent water from stagnating.

• The soil mixture is purchased ready-made, or turf, peat, and sand are mixed 2:2:1.
• Lupine beans are stratified by leaving them in the freezer for 24 hours, then thrown into boiling water.
• Then they are soaked for a day in a biostimulant solution: zircon, root, to soften the shell. seeds.
• Then they are planted in pots prepared in advance.
• Cover with covering material.
• After the emergence of seedlings (approximately 1-2 weeks), the agrotextile is removed.
• If necessary, additional lighting is provided.

• In mid-May, lupines are transplanted into the ground, spaced 50 cm apart. Drainage is placed at the bottom of the planting hole, and the hole is watered.
• Fertilizers are added. Nitrogen fertilizers are applied in small quantities, as the plant is able to take them up from the soil.
• When planting, proceed carefully, trying to completely remove the plant along with the lump of earth, without damaging the roots.

• The lump of lupine is placed in a hole at ground level and covered with soil, compacted.
• They are watering.
• Since most lupine varieties are tall, the plant is tied up.

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An unusual way to grow lupine

In the fall, you can scatter lupine seeds under trees. This flower thrives near apple, cherry, plum, and other fruit trees.

After winter, in spring, you'll see a whole garden of lupines. Seeds of various colors are best for this. Then you'll get colorful, vibrant flowers as early as April.

Caring for lupines

The plant is unpretentious, but still requires a little care:

1. Water evenly, no more than once a week, unless it rains. Watch for rain and drought. On sunny, hot days, water every two days.
2. Mineral fertilizers and foliar spraying are applied once every 4 weeks; 14 days after mineral fertilizers, organic fertilizers are applied, such as diluted bird's eye fertilizer.
3. Weeding. Since lupines have a taproot system, it's necessary to periodically loosen the soil and remove weeds to a depth of 5-7 cm.
4. The spaces between the flowers are filled with mulch. Shredded wood and stone are used to protect the plant from cracking and moisture evaporation.

Seed collection

The flower's seeds are collected in a pod and break off quite easily. If they aren't picked promptly, the pod will open and the tiny seeds inside will scatter all over the garden. The bad news is, you'll have to fight the lupine plant the following year.

Diseases and pests

Lupine is susceptible to diseases and pests. The most common are:

• Rust. Appears as raised orange spots and can be removed with fungicides or an onion and garlic infusion.
• Ring spot forms reddish or brown spots. Treatment is with copper-containing products, such as Bordeaux mixture or copper sulfate.

• The mosaic forms green patterns lighter than the entire leaf blade; soil disinfection with appropriate substances is necessary.
• Various types of rot, both stem and root, can kill lupines. If caught early, you can treat the fungus with a spray.
• Common pests include aphids, which feed on the tops of plants, weevils, and shoot flies. The plant should be thoroughly watered with a hose to dislodge the insects, then treated with a soapy solution of laundry soap and insecticides.

Types of lupines

Since lupine grows over a fairly large area from Europe to America, it has many species, some of which are listed in the table.

Varieties by inflorescence color

Over its long history, a huge number of perennial lupine cultivars have been developed, with dozens of varieties for each species. Planting and caring for them are virtually identical, but you can create completely different flowerbeds.

Lupine and other plants

Due to its size and large inflorescences, the plant looks great both in group plantings and as a single specimen. Perennial lupine combines beautifully with other plantings, provided the care requirements are similar to those of the lupine. Photos of what to plant this flower with are varied, as are the flowerbed designs.

If lupines are planted in the background of a mixed border, then plants that are lower in the front are selected, but capable of covering the bare stems, for example, any type of daisy, perennial asters, hostas, low coniferous shrubs, horizontal cotoneaster, asters and chrysanthemums.

Benefits of lupine

In addition to its decorative properties, lupine also has a number of useful properties:

• The plant is an excellent green manure crop. In addition to ornamental varieties, there are also forage varieties. Both can improve the soil, as do many legumes. They absorb nitrogen-containing substances from the soil and release pure nitrogen, which is essential for plant nutrition. The green mass of young flowers is often cut and used to till the soil.
• Some people use lupine stems to make paper.
• The seeds and beans themselves look great in various crafts.

• The pharmaceutical industry also relies heavily on this plant. Extracts from it are used in medical patches.
• It is added to cosmetics and soaps due to its antioxidant and anti-aging properties.
• Some marine and river farms add lupine to fish feed. Fur farmers also feed their rabbits with lupine seeds.
• Beans are used in cooking and contain more than 300 kilocalories per 100 g.

Interesting facts about lupine

Besides all of the above, one can talk about this flower endlessly:

1. There are more than 200 species of lupine.
2. At Lake Tikal in New Zealand, lupines require no perennial care, and no planting is necessary. They grow by self-seeding, creating beautiful landscapes in photographs.
3. Flowers can be planted to repel mice and also placed around the house.
4. Lupine is the symbol of the US state of Texas.
5. Contains more than 60% proteins.
6. Arctic lupine has been found with seeds that are approximately 15,000 years old.

Lupine, one of the few early flowers to bloom as early as May, is sure to delight gardeners with its blooms if properly cared for. Watch the video to learn how.