Lupine

Today we will tell you about an amazing plant that many gardeners grow on their backyards. This bushy plant belongs to the legume family, in this series you can find both perennials and annual crops. There are herbaceous plants, semi-shrubs, shrubs. In another way, this amazing culture is called wolf beans, because this is how the name of this plant is translated. In its natural habitat, lupine grows both in the Western Hemisphere and in the Mediterranean region, as well as in some African countries. Speaking of American species, the region is mainly grown for the Variable Lupine, which has been known on this continent for millennia. This culture is considered to be unpretentious, it is resistant to drought, therefore, very often in nature, lupines can be found, for example, in deserts. This plant is grown in Texas, California, Chile. Surprisingly, this plant can be found even in the arid Sahara. And new varieties of lupine appear very often. Many gardeners decorate their flower beds and flower beds with this plant. In addition, lupine blooms for a very long time, and its varieties are truly amazing, the flowers of this culture are very diverse, according to the color of the inflorescences, they come in almost all colors of the rainbow. In today's article, we will tell you about the features of growing this crop, the rules of planting and care, and also share with you the characteristics of the various species and varieties of this amazing plant.

Lupine - description and characteristics

It is believed that this plant is quite undemanding, however, certain care rules still need to be followed. Only then will lupine delight you with its beauty and grace. Usually this culture is grown by seedling. Seeds are planted on seedlings in early spring, but seedlings can be transplanted into open ground only when two or three pairs of real healthy leaves are formed on each plant. And usually seedlings are planted on the flowerbed in April. If you want to plant seeds directly in open ground, then it is best to do this in late spring, you can plant lupine in late autumn. This plant usually blooms in late spring, early summer. This culture blooms for a long time, almost a month. Lupine needs bright sunlight, only in such conditions does this plant feel comfortable. If we talk about the soil, then the type of soil can be any, but these plants feel best on loams, but if we talk about acidity, then a slightly acidic or slightly alkaline medium is suitable. It is recommended to water the plant quite intensively, and this will need to be done abundantly in the spring, when the lupine has faded, the watering regime will need to be adjusted, reduced. It is recommended to feed the plant from the age of two. In the spring, fertilizer containing useful microelements can be applied to the soil, and in summer a complex mineral fertilizer is suitable for feeding. Lupine is propagated by seeds, the immunity of plants is quite high, however, it is still necessary to protect the culture from rot, wilting, rust, weevils.

Peculiarities.

Lupine has a tap root system. That is why this culture does not need moisture so much. Roots can sometimes go up to 2 m deep. As you remember, all legumes enrich the soil with nitrogen, so on the surface roots you can see small swellings that transfer nitrogen from the air into a form accessible to plants, saturating the soil with it.The stems of plants have a woody or herbaceous shape, the shoots are either erect or creeping, the branches are slightly protruding. Leaf plates have a rather complex structure. The stipule is long and the leaf cushion is large. The inflorescences are racemose, on each of them many flowers develop, which can be of a wide variety of colors, from white and yellow to purple and cream. Different subspecies of this culture differ in the shape of the inflorescences, the size of the shoots, as well as the color of the flowers. It is believed that the American varieties of these beans are much smaller than the Mediterranean ones. Usually, when the beans dry out, they begin to crack, and the seeds quickly scatter around the surrounding area, so the plant multiplies effectively. However, this culture is used not only to decorate flower beds and personal plots, many use these legumes in order to enrich the soil with useful substances. Few people know that lupine is considered an excellent green manure. When the shoots and leaves of these plants rot in the soil, they become fertilizer. And very often gardeners grow fodder lupine, which, you guessed it, is suitable for feeding animals.

Lupine landing

As you remember, this crop is usually grown by seedling method. In order to grow this beautiful plant, you will need to plant seeds for seedlings as early as March. To do this, the container should be filled with nutritious, loose soil with the addition of turf soil, peat and sand. In order for the seeds to develop more intensively, turning into mature plants, you can first combine the planting material with the grated roots of dried lupins. This accelerates the growth of bacteria in the soil, which means that the seedlings will develop faster. Usually, the first sprouts appear in a week, during this period you will need to remove the film or glass from the pots and rearrange the containers with seedlings on the windowsill. However, remember that if you grow lupine from seeds, then new plants will not always meet varietal requirements, many characteristics of seedlings are not preserved. Therefore, these plants are most often grown from seeds by professionals. It is believed that if the flowers of lupine are colored purple or pink, then these signs will persist in the next generation, because they are dominant. But the white color, on the contrary, is often lost in the process of growing this crop. Therefore, very often in new plants, the color of the flowers does not correspond to the parent. Be careful when planting seedlings outdoors. This should be done only when two or three pairs of healthy leaves appear on each seedling. However, you should not delay the transplant, as you remember, the root system of this culture is pivotal, which means that if all the seedlings are too large, then during the picking process you can easily injure the roots, which means that the lupine will not take root in the open ground. However, do not worry, lupine can be grown without seedlings. The seeds are often planted outdoors. This will need to be done when the snow cover completely disappears; it is recommended to prepare the site for planting this culture in advance. Namely in the fall. Most often, flower growers plant seeds before winter, carrying out planting work at the end of October. This method has many advantages, but there are almost no contraindications. This natural selection has a beneficial effect on the formation of immunity. Before the arrival of cold weather, the shoots do not have time to appear, which means that such a natural stratification has a beneficial effect on the appearance of spring shoots. It is best to deepen the seeds into the ground by no more than 2 cm; from above, the garden plot with beds is covered with peat. This material is used as mulch.In the spring, the entrances always appear quite amicably, however, after the autumn sowing, this culture will begin to bloom only in August, so you should not wait for the inflorescences too early. As we mentioned earlier, it is best to plant these plants on sandy loam or clay soil. If we talk about the level of acidity, then a slightly alkaline soil is suitable for planting these plants, you can plant lupine in an area where the acidity is slightly increased. The beds must be open and well lit. If the soil in your garden is too acidic, then in the fall you can produce it. To do this, dolmovite flour or lime is embedded in the soil, the procedure is carried out 1 time in several years, but if the soil is alkaline on the site, then it is better to embed a little peat in the soil. All these substrates will definitely need to be dug up so that the nutrients are not washed away. In the spring, the seedlings are planted so that the distance between the plants is about 30-50 cm. It is at this distance that these bushes develop normally.

Lupine care

It is believed that it is quite easy to grow this culture in your personal plot. However, if you are growing a perennial crop, then in the first season, special attention should be paid to loosening the soil surface, as well as weeding the site. Mature bushes are recommended to spill regularly, because very often the roots of these plants begin to be exposed, so the side rosettes are isolated, and this does not have a very good effect on the development of the bush. Already at the age of five, lupines are recommended to be removed from the site, because it is at this time that the middle of the bush begins to die off, which means that the decorativeness of the plant is lost. If you have chosen strong-growing varieties, then do not forget about the support, strong gusts of wind may well injure lupines, so think about this in advance. Do not forget that the plant also needs timely pruning of wilted flowers. It is undesirable to allow the inflorescences to wither directly on the plant. It is in this case that the decorative effect will be lost, and the lupine will not bloom again, and for the first time the culture will not bloom for a long time. Therefore, remove dry inflorescences regularly, in this case the decorativeness of the culture will be simply magnificent. And with proper care, many perennials will bloom again closer to autumn. This plant is watered especially intensively in spring, in summer and autumn the irrigation regime is adjusted. At first, the plants do not need to be fed, but at the age of two, it is quite possible to apply a complex mineral fertilizer to the soil. However, it is undesirable to fertilize the site with nitrogen, because this plant already copes with this task perfectly. Its roots themselves extract nitrogen from the air, which is why many other crops grow well after legumes. It is recommended to add calcium chloride and superphosphate to the soil. Feeding is best done in the spring, before the plants start flowering.

Pests and diseases

As we noted earlier, this culture does not have such a high immunity, therefore, preventive examinations and treatments are very necessary for the bushes. Aphids often settle on plants. And closer to autumn, you can see on the shoots of nodule weevils and fly larvae. In order for these insects not to harm the plantings, you treat the bushes with insecticides in time, which you can purchase at a garden center or an agricultural store. If we talk about diseases, then rot, mosaics, rust, as well as some other diseases are considered dangerous for these plants. For preventive purposes, follow the rules of agricultural technology, do not forget about crop rotation, lupine on the site should not grow for more than 3 years, therefore, it is not recommended to plant legumes in the same place for a longer time. And if we talk about previous crops, then lupine grows well where you previously grew cereals.

Post-flowering care

As we noted earlier, lupine beans often crack, which means the seeds are scattered to the sides. If you want to harvest the planting material and plant the lupine next year, then you need to harvest the beans until they are completely dry and cracked. As soon as you notice that the pods have begun to turn yellow and dry quickly, then the fruit is best cut off. The seeds may well dry out in your home, on newspaper or paper. When the plants have faded, it is advisable to prune the foliage and flower stalks. If you need seeds in the future, collect them. Perennials recommend hilling, for this it is advisable to cover the soil with peat. This is done so that the root collar is not exposed. Before wintering, it is recommended to cover the site with sawdust, thus, it will be more comfortable for the plants to winter, and under such a blanket they rarely freeze out.

Lupine: varieties

As promised earlier, we will tell you about what varieties and types of lupine exist at the present time.

And the first variety is blue lupine. This plant is quite tall. Its shoots are capable of reaching a one and a half meter mark. Branches are erect, slightly drooping. The leaf plates are large, the flowers, unfortunately, have no aroma. However, to your surprise, they are not blue at all in color, and quite often lupines form pink and white inflorescences, and sometimes purple. Probably, it is because of this that this variety received such a name.

The multi-leaved lupine is found in its natural habitat in the North American regions. It is quite frost-resistant. The plant is not demanding on growing conditions. If you follow the elementary rules of agricultural technology, then lupine will certainly delight you with beautiful inflorescences. This culture feels great in the middle latitudes. The bush grows to a height of more than 1 m. Its shoots are quite thick, straight. The leaf plates are slightly lowered. The inflorescences reach 35 cm in length. The flowers are blue in color, the culture usually blooms in early summer, and the inflorescences begin to fade in a month, in August sometimes the bushes bloom again.

Yellow lupine has the same beautiful leaf blades. The stem of this variety has little leafy. Annual plants. Inflorescences, you guessed it, are yellow in color, lupine has a rather pleasant aroma. The petioles of the plants are long, and the leaves are lowered.

White lupine is also considered a beautiful variety. Its shoots are erect, branching at the top. The leaf plates are palmate. A beautiful silvery color is visible on the villi. On the front side, the leaves are smooth, but they do not have an inflorescence smell, the flowers are pinkish, blue or white in color.

Currently, there are other varieties of this culture, such as dwarf lupine, perennial and others. Many gardeners also love the graceful hybrids of this culture, which also usually bloom in summer, have brightly colored inflorescences, and a decorative appearance. It is easy to take care of lupine bushes, and after growing this plant, almost any crop can be planted on the site. It is not for nothing that these legumes are used as green manure. Therefore, lupine is considered not only a beautiful plant, but also very useful. At least for your garden and soil.