A perennial lupine flower from a distance can be mistaken for a delphinium – these plants have similar powerful flower brushes and dense dark green foliage. But the flowers of the lupine plant, according to the description, rather resemble a snapdragon – only the “dogs” are much smaller. All varieties of perennial lupine are highly decorative and in most cases spread over the site by self-sowing.
What perennial lupine looks like: photo and description of varieties
Lupine is a fast-growing perennial plant that is not afraid of light shade. It has a powerful tap root, large palmately divided leaves and a long flower raceme with beautiful flowers of various colors.
This plant is extremely beautiful and useful for the gardener. On the roots of lupine, small spherical swellings are formed, in which bacteria live, capable of binding free nitrogen from the air and enriching the soil with it.
Lupine roots, penetrating to a depth of more than a meter, seem to pump nutrients extracted from deep layers of soil into the arable layer. And the buried green mass forms humus, which enriches the soil with nutrients and improves its structure. As a fertilizer, lupine humus completely replaces manure.
Pay attention to how the lupine flower looks in the photo – it consists of five petals.
The upper, widest, largest, is called a “flag” or “sail”; two lateral, much smaller ones – “wings”, and two lower ones, bent and fused at the bases – “boat”. In the center of the flower there is one pistil with a stigma and 10 stamens. Such a peculiar structure of the flower in all plants of the legume family, to which lupine belongs.
Lupine beans dry unevenly when ripe, which causes their valves to twist into a spiral. There is a mechanical force, and the seeds are scattered with a crack in all directions from the plant.
Lupine seeds are large. It blooms in May-June. After cutting the faded stems, the plants form new shoots that can prolong flowering until late autumn. If, immediately after withering, the inflorescence is cut off and the seeds are not allowed to set, then this plant will bloom again in the same year. But if the seeds on the plant are ripe and crumbled, then next year young plants from self-sowing will appear on the flower garden.
Lupine develops well and blooms for 3-4 years, after which it is recommended to replace old plants with young seedlings.
Among amateur gardeners, the most popular varieties of perennial lupine are the following:
“Minaret” – the most colorful mixture with bright large dense cone-shaped inflorescences;
“Lulu”. Differs in compactness and a variety of bright colors. The most early and colorful mixture of varieties. The height of the plants is 50 cm, like that of the Minaret.
As you can see in the photo, perennial lupine can be placed in groups on the lawn or together with other plants (distance between plants 40 cm).
Irises , lilies , delphiniums and phlox go well with lupins.
Used in group plantings in large arrays in the background. They look very good in a mixture of varieties. Planted with other perennials in mixed discounts.
Growing perennial lupine from seeds and vegetatively
Growing lupine is not difficult at all. If the winter is not very severe, shoots appear from self-sowing in spring. When growing perennial lupine from seeds, you can sow them in pots in April and keep them in a shaded garden, and in May plant seedlings in a permanent place in the garden .
The culture is unpretentious , but grows best on loamy, slightly acidic soils. After planting, when caring for perennial lupine, do not forget about weeding and loosening.
The culture practically does not tolerate transplantation due to the presence of a taproot. If grown through seedlings , then only in pots, which cannot be destroyed when planting in the ground.
To save especially beautiful specimens, you can propagate them vegetatively : for this, the renewal buds that form at the base of the stem are cut out together with a piece of root and planted in a shaded place. When growing perennial lupins in this way, this operation is best done after the plants have bloomed. A month after planting, young roots appear in the cuttings and they can be planted in a flower garden .
Some varieties of perennial lupine have a flower brush up to 1 m long, while others, on the contrary, are distinguished by many short and wide inflorescences. Flower color ranges from white and yellow to pink, red and purple.
There are two-color lupins, they have a great combination of colors:
White with blue
Blue with yellow
Orange with bright red.
