Common name: Lupine
Family:Fabaceae, Legume
Height x width: 3-4' x 1-2'
Foliage: palmately compound with 9-16 leaflets on long 6-12" stalks, leaflets lanceolate 2-6" long
Flowers: showy terminal and dense racemes 1-2' long, individual flowers butterfly-shaped (papilionaceous) to about ½" long; yellows, red, pinks, purples, white and bicolors; early summer
Hardiness: zones 4-6
Soil: moist and acidic for most hybrids and polyphyllus; most species occur in stony, low fertility, dry habitats
Light: sun to part shade
Pests and Problems: powdery mildew, rusts, aphid, four-lined plant bug (none serious)
Landscape habit, uses: border, naturalized in meadows, moist areas, cut flowers
Other interest: name is from the Latin lupus for wolf, refering to the old and false myth that the deep taproot deprived the soil of nutrients, actually being a legume it helps restore soil fertility to poor soils; Russell hybrids are the most popular, bred by George Russell in Yorkshire, England along railway crossing where he worked and were first introduced in 1937
Other culture: will not tolerate high heat and humidity of the south; tall cultivars may need staking or support;
Propagation: seeds (1,000 seeds per ounce) sown in alternating day and night temperatures, first soak in water overnight or scarify; cuttings of hybrids in spring with small pice of attached root or crown
Species:
•argenteus (are-gen' tee-us)--zones 4-9, 15-20", native to SW U.S.; blue, lilac or lavender (seldom white or pink) flowers in late summer
•perennis (per-en' niss)--Wild Lupine, zones 4-8, native to eastern N. America, 24-30"; violet, pink, white or bicolor flowers in spring
•polyphyllus (pol-ee-phil' us)--zones 4-8, native to western N. America, 3-5'; blue, purple, pink or white flowers in summer
•texensis (tes-en' siss)--Texas Bluebonnet, zones 5-8,
native to Texas, 12-15" with bright blue flowers in spring
Cultivars:
Most are hybrids of several species including polyphyllus, arboreus
(shrub),
mutabilis (shrub), hartwegii (annual) and nanus (annual),
but
often listed under polyphyllus.
| Cultivar | flowers | height | |
| Band of Nobles series | mix | 4-5' | |
| 'Chandelier' | yellow | 3' | |
| Gallery series | blue, pink, red, white, yellow | 15-18" | |
| 'Garden Gnome' | many | 18-24" | |
| 'Minarette' | mixed | 18-20" | |
| 'My Castle' | brick red | 2-3' | |
| 'Noble Maiden' | white | 2' | |
| 'Popsicle' | blue, pink, red, white, yellow | 2-3' | |
| 'Red Flame' | bright red | 3-4' | |
| 'The Chatelaine' | pink, white bicolor | 3-4' | |
| 'The Governor' | blue and purple | 2-3' | |
| 'The Pages' | carmine | 3' | |
©Authored by Dr. Leonard Perry, Professor, University of Vermont as part of PSS123 course.
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