lupines
Lupines. I just had to add them to my garden.
more lupines
lupines blooming
Lovely, Rita!
I will have to take a picture of my purple (-blue) bush lupine.
I planted a yellow one for my new "hot bed". That one is still small...not sure if it will flower the first season.
I wish I could plant Lupines all around. But I have to keep them were I can make sure I remember to water them each day come the hot summertime. This lupine garden is very near the hose LOL!
I was wondering if my Sundial Lupines would bloom this year since they are also very small.
Yours are blooming already rita. Do you have any idea if they can also bloom a little later in the season?
Your plants are small. I did buy small plants mail order last year from American Meadows and planted them between my lily plants off to the side. They all died, many before the end of the summer but none overwintered. They didn't even think about putting up bloom stalks.
On the other hand I also bought small plants from Bluestone Perennials, planted them in another garden and they thrived. But too small to think about blooming last year. They all came up this spring and at least one bloom stalk now, which is the second year.
But I am stubborn so I bought new small mail order plants and planted them between the lillies again in the same section I tried it in last year. This time I got the plants from Graceful Gardens.
I really think the small first year plants don't bloom until the second year. But that is just my opinion, not necessarily fact.
I have three or four from last year's seedlings. The only one blooming
is Gallery Pink; it has five flower spikes! I soaked another pack of Tutti
Frutti for the past 36 hours or so and planted them in a summer sowing
bottle. My experiment of planting soaked seeds turned out quite well too.
I am hoping those small plants will bloom next year.
One can never have too many lupines. I just looked up Tutti Fruitti and the collors look striking.
My one blue Russell that bloomed last year started an obsession. I tried starting a few types this winter indoors- soaking, chilling, Deno- and ended up with 5 pink Governeur and 6 Band of Nobles mix seedlings. I've just planted them all, and have my fingers crossed they'll thrive. The one that bloomed blue last year I bought as a plug. I had one seedling I'd gotten just by luck the typical way out of a whole packet,. Both survived the winter. I'm sure at least one of them will bloom this year, if not both. In this zone, it's early yet, I don't see any signs of flower stalks.
In my old garden in the Hamptons, I never even bothered because I heard they don't make it through the winter. I guess 2 zones apart makes a huge difference, but if I'd known how spectacular they are I might have done the same as you, Rita, and treated them like annuals. They are certainly worth it!
Pam
They shouldn't be annuals here. I am sure it was the excessive record breaking heat we had last July and the six weeks of no rain that done them, not the winter. And some of them did come up this spring. I am hoping these new ones do better than last years did.
Yes, I started quite a few from seed last year, if some will remember my antics. They did not bloom the first year. Some are much bigger now, and others are medium in size. Since it snowed today, I have no idea when they will actually bloom. I have about 9 plants I think. The one side of the bed was attacked by gophers or ground squirrels so those lupine are all gone. I am not going to try and transplant them...just save more seeds and start more this year.
I purchased a white lupine for the white flower border, and hope to save the seeds and start more.
Quote from warriorswisdomkathy :
Anyone able to id this wildflower?
How tall is it? Can you show the leaves in a picture? I am just guessing - Linaria triornithophora
Also, I am interested in some seeds of your high-elevation lupine. Do you know its name?
more lupine views
lupines again
Rita, you should be proud of those gorgeous lupines!
I am. I just love them and keep looking at them and taking pictures of them. So many of the bloom spikes are still green and small, they have lots and lots of bloom to come.
I forgot that in addition to Dwarf Lulu there are the Minarettes as well; they
are very small, composed of pink, yellow, lavender, and one other pastel.
Also, if started early the can bloom the same year!!!! Either Summerhill or
Swallowtail seed.
Lupines on a dark rainey day today.
Lupine closeup
another view
Wow, Rita! Those are gorgeous! Just lovely!
Lupines today.
again
Last one for today.
love
I managed to start some from seed! hurrah! I have about 1/2 dozen little plants with pretty lupine leaves coming up. My larger, last-year lupines are getting ready to bloom, and look really impressive already. Hopefully these "babies" will grow all summer and bloom next year? I knicked them with a serrated knife, soaked overnight-two nights, actually, because we had a thunderstorm, and planted them about a month ago. They came up with two leaves that looked liked bean plants, but the next set of leaves are distinctly lupines. I don't usually have too much luck with seeds, but these are doing okay. Thanks for the inspiration, rita, yours are too beautiful!
I think everyone in Lupine growing areas like the north should grow them. I know it's too hot down south to grow them. But they are just that beautiful.
Hope yours grow and bloom like crazy.
I planted my babies yesterday. I also grew from seed- soaked 24 hours, them used the Deno method, damp paper towels in baggies in the fridge. I ended up with a dozen, some Band of Nobles mix and some tall pink Chatelaine.
The one that bloomed blue last year is about to do it again, and there are several little babies from that here and there. I tried potting up a couple but they didn't make it, so I'm leaving the rest in place to see what they do. I think I'll try WS-ing more this fall before we close the house for the winter. After seeing that one bloom last year I'm like you, Rita- just have to have those gorgeous things in my garden!
Pam
Lupine trouble! My plants are busy growing and a beautiful bud forms, starts to turn color and "flower" and then droops and dies? Any ideas what might be happening?
Quote from newyorkrita :
I think everyone in Lupine growing areas like the north should grow them. I know it's too hot down south to grow them. But they are just that beautiful.
Hope yours grow and bloom like crazy.
OK, Rita! I do not know what you mean by north and south. Yes the summers are hot here, but the winters are cold with snow every year. I live in the Sierra foothills in Northern CA at about 3500' in elevation. It has been in the 80's for the last couple of weeks and I have to water a lot, but lupines are not all that I grow. This is the first year the ones I grew from seed are blooming. I also have some bush lupine, which bloom well every year. I have planted a new bush lupine with yellow flowers, but it won't bloom until next year. I will be starting more from seed as well. They seem to respond well to sowing outdoors during winter.
I have band of nobles seedlings. Most all of them have only one leaf. It is hot here at times.
I am thinking about transplanting them to one big pot until it gets cooler. I had some seedlings
early, but only a few survived. If these don't, then I will order new seeds!
evelyn...... sorry not sure of name, think it might be texas bluebonnets but not quite as dark, will look for plants but not sure if I will find, had a bad hail storm 3 weeks ago. Also, is yelllow lupine or thermopsis, I have Thermopsis and they look similar to lupines.. Also ref. linaria, probably isn't, linaria flowers a bit further apart on stem, these are grouped closely,( just got linaria purperea Cannon Went in a trade this summer, love that I got them replaced!).....Gloriag..got seeds for a deep red and purple if intrested and they are fresh. I have let my lupines reseed in the garden, think they should bloom next season. This year not so great on my Lupines, some bug got to them and defoliated as they were getting ready to bloom, was sad, next year tho... Isn't that the way of gardeners tho, eternal optimists. LOL. Mama racoon and four babies, from last summer, mama's been back to visit the last three or four nights. Good Luck, Kathy
Cute, but they can sure be destructive little buggers!
Thanks Kathy Warrior, I will take a rain check on them because I have about 15 seedlings in a pot;
I will plant them soon. I have black and deep green nylon fine netting that I can use as shade
cloth.
My motto is "never give up." I have no idea how many packets of seeds I have germinated. I do know
that what I have surviving in the garden in is a small number by comparison. I do the same thing
with delphiniums. Whenever I see a package in a store (usually they are cheaper there,) I buy a
packet. Right now I have Blue Jay Pacific Giants and a mix of Pacific Giants. Also, I have seedlings
growing outside and seedlings under lights. This year I fell in love with Bellamosum because they
have branches of intense cobalt blue flowers. They make more flower stems and produce really
viable seeds. With lupin and delphs I just automatically start as many as I can accommodate because
I feel there will be some survivors. It is a scatter shot approach. Surely some will survive. I do
have around 7 in one bed and about 5 in another. This has been a harsh year as many of you
have experienced, but the little things made it so far. Of course, some didn't- that's to be
expected. I just keep on growing seedlings.
Hi, Kathy!
Yes, I have Thermopsis growing as well as Baptisia to supplement the "lupine category", though they both may be more well-suited to growing here as well. They surely do not need as much water in the summer.
This is the latest lupine growing this year and so far, the nicest one, IMHO...
Here is the light pink...
A white one...
Does anyone have any bush or "tree" lupines?
