Lupin Feed ?

I have grown some Lupin - Russel from seed last August . They are now ready to plant out.
I have turned over and applied Growmore to a couple of flower beds today , but I have not applied Growmore to the Lupin area to be . Is this correct do Lupins prefer soil that is not to rich ?

TIA

 

I chucked some Growmore on my Lupins - but I was chucking it on everything at the time, so that's no recomendation

They are Legumes, so will "make" their own Nitrogen. Not sure how much of anything else they need though.

 

So basically they are not that fussy Kristen ?
When I was a kid Lupins and Red Hot pokers were everywhere . Lupins seem to have become trendy again over the last few years . I can't believe the price of a 2 litre pot grown one on Crocus - £7.99 !! It would cost me £100 to plant the small area I have planned . £1.80 for a packet of seeds seems for better

 

Trouble is its going to cost them that (well .. Crocus prices are on the high-side, but quality is good) to grow any plant in a 2L pot - even a weed :( and named varieties are going to need vegetative propagation, so not all that quick to bulk-up. But you are right, a herbaceous border needs a lot more plants, per sq.m., than say a Shrubbery.

 

Hi H

As long as your soil has enough clout i wouldn't feed , if you do feed Lupins to much nitrogen they will double the amount of leaf and this will make the foliage less ridged and get whacked by the weather and open up the plant which has happened to me many moons ago plus the aphids move in and Lupins do have there own Aphid.

Thy are deep rooted perennial so if they look like they need a pick me up use some Tomato feed is best , plus this will help will increasing the colour in the blooms.

I think Crocus are selling named varieties which are all struck from cuttings, which makes the prices higher , I prefer seeds like you, and if you do have one that you really like you can always take cuttings and they root very easily .


Spruce

 

Look - mines a named variety as well ! Wilkos bargain bucket £1.80

 

I was having a good think, Lupins must be in my top 5 plants I grew from seed as a kid . Plus you know from the young foliage of the seedlings which is going to be dark or light when it flowers

Westcountry Nurseries have helped make them popular again

http://www.westcountrylupins.co.uk/acatalog/Lupins-p1.html

 

My Lupins have never been fed and thrive on my sandy soil, they are pretty tough plants.

 

I also had lupins` seeds and I bought them rather cheap at Megaflowers, they were fresh and grown very quickly

 

Amazing , but very small , photo on that site Spruce . Its shows a horse ploughing a Lupin field in the 1930's. I would love to see the full size version of this .
So this means Lupins were a cash crop ? Were they just for the flower heads , or do they have another value ?

 

I will have to investigate

 

@HarryS

this is interesting

http://lupins-bk.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/history-of-lupin-domestication.html

 

Can't believe how much can be written about a Lupin ! So it goes back to 2000BC , and can be used as a foodstuff , cattle food and green manure. A versatile crop , I'll just be looking at mine !

 

I didn't realise they could be used for food. Wild rabbits in my last garden didn't touch them but devoured everything else in sight!