My wife's Aunt gave us some Lupine pods from up near Canada. I'm down here in Texas.
How will they fair here?
Lupines in Dallas???
I have seen some here but never been able to get the seed I had to grow. Bluebonnets are a type of Lupine so some do great here - it is a matter of getting the right ones I guess.
I didn't know bluebonnets were lupines. Interesting ....
these are the full blown zone 4 and 5 types. They look great in her yard right now ...
I would doubt it... but you never know.
Thanks Mitch ...
I just bought a whole tray of yellow lupines ... 75% off at Ace hardware, I never had good luck with them ... but at this price I will try again.
Sylvia,
Photos?????
I love lupines and this thread caught my eye, so I looked up the lupine that I planted this spring - Lupinus arboreas - to see if it might grow in TX. To my surprise, I discovered even though it is a CA native plant, it becomes invasive and facilitates non-native weeds moving in by fixing nitrogen (I think I have that right). Our native plants like lean soil, so it seems I picked a bad one. The seeds are large and apparently have a high germination rate, so I think I'd better remove it. Such a shame, it's a fast-growing, lovely bush and the flowers were a beautiful yellow. Be careful what you wish for - and what you plant!
Kathleen
PS - We do have annual lupines that are very pretty - probably much like yours. My s-i-l from England told me they consider them weeds there.
I've tried them multiple times, and so has my neighbor...they always died once it started to heat up....
Hope you have better luck with them, but I think they do better in cooler climates.
Hey Sublimaze, I am just getting back to this thread. ...glad I did because I am having plumbing problems and cant think of anything else. Anyway I dont think I bought any of the Lupines because of the problems I have with them. Some pics of bargains. I think I will plant them in troughs and let them stay there until spring.
my first batch ... then I went back for more. :) Lord I hate to go out there with those mosquitos.
Sylvia,
I just cleared out space in the garage. I may seed some in flats under lights and then put them out when it gets cooler. I got some seeds when I was up north and ... well, I think it's all above.
We will see ...
P.S. Mosquitos are !#%^&!^. Just ask Pleakley.
Upnorth, are they the big ones? I got Delphinums, yarrow, coreopsis,aquligea(sp and three other things. I got so much other stuff to plant out there too. I wait until late in the evening to plant and those mosquitos are terrible. I spray myself and burn citronella.
This was the second year that I planted lupine seeds. Last year, I planted them all in full to mostly sunny locations. Every seed sprouted and got about an inch high then turned yellow and died. So, I thought maybe it's too hot for them in the Texas sun, so this year I planted all of them in mostly shady locations. I got the same results, they all sprouted, grew to 1'' then turned yellow and died. I've been reading some articles on lupines and come to find out, they need acidic soils and the soil at my place has too much limestone, making the soil very alkaline. Those of you who've also failed with lupines, what are your soils' pH levels like?
Well, I've failed many times, and I'm on the alkaline side. I still think it is partly our heat, too.
They just don't like our soil, or our temps :0)
About lupines-the hybrid lupines you are trying to grow have many 'parents' in their genes. One of the major lines is from a plant that only grows in Z6 & north.
If you don't mind a plain blue try http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/72868/ it should grow in the northern half of TX
Also investigate http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/1906/ & http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/72870/
Here is a seed source for some CA lupines, you may have to do a web search to find a lower price, but, it will give you an idea of what kinds grow on clay soil (besides Bluebonnet). http://www.larnerseeds.com/_pages/wildflower_annual.html Scroll down the page to lupines. They are all annuals that are fall planted and should survive the winter.
I have tried a few here and they grow well, but, we have a sandy acid soil and they give up after awhile even tho I mixed in crushed limestone. Lupines are usually deeply rooted.
Also searching for CA wildflowers will turn up other sources of seed and maybe a few more species.
This winter I was going to try and grow some in pots. My thinking is that if I take potting soild and mix it will the limestone it might be more to their liking. I would love to have a big pot of lupines near the front steps. I have tried growing Bluebonnets here, they don't grow at all, we are too warm in winter.
Summary:
Way too much prep and work for maintenance for a plant that shouldn't be grown here in the first place.
Having said that, I still may have a go at it. But not right now. Way too hot and getting dryer by the minute.
W J