A few lupins

The lupins are in fairly good shape this eyar

 

They look absolutely great. That's the kind of spectacle I'd like to create - just give me a few more years.....

 

Yea. Really beautiful.

I used to grow them in the old place, but they kept getting covered in green/black fly. Must try again over here in Wales.

Love the Cordylines...have planted a purple one in the garden, from a pot...seems to be struggling a bit, but looks like it will pick up. The green one I have bought is doing great...but not been in a pot for two years.

 

Your lupins and in fact your whole garden looks beautiful
I planted a lupin root when i planted up my front border,but sadly it sent up a shoot then disappeared, i hold out hopes it may try again :(

 

pam, I had that problem with Lupins and worked out that they were suffering from a virus. I started them from seed, after that and they're fine now.

 

ahhh Whis4ey your lupins are looking so healthy. I dont know what happened this year with mine but, the aphids and slugs demolished them, even though I sprayed then with soapy water, which has always worked for me in the past. 02

 

They are lovely Whis4ey. I grew some for the first time this year, and was very pleased.



Flinty, you only need one year - not several. Virtually everything in the above picture was grown from seed sown last year (except for the Pieris in the gravel). I have been experimenting with biennials and sowed quite a few last year. Actually the Lupins were bought as tiny plugs rather than seed, but I suspect seed would have produced the same results.

To my mind the secret is 1) to sow quite a lot of different seeds; its always better to have more plants than you need. 2) I sow them in little pots then move them up to quite large pots - 6 ins or more. I find that plants much prefer big pots. 3) I kept the plants in pots in a corner till the autumn, then plant them out. I plant fairly closely to get a good show.

The other plants are Hesperis matronalis (the big purple one), some small Bellis perennis, Lychnis coronaria, Campanula medium, in bud, in the foreground, as well as Foxgloves and Salvia sclarea out of the picture - all grown as biennials. To be replaced with later flowering things in a while. Meanwhile the next generation of biennials are growing in pots again.

 

Great show Peter

 

If I planted lupins this month would they flower this year? The seed catalog's seem to say so but I'm not sure I believe them...

 

Thanks whis4ey. I think Lupins are one of the most spectacular plants and the foliage is lovely. I really like the contrast of yours with the spikey Phormiums. You have given me some ideas.

Men8ifr - If you sow Lupins early in the season, ie in March, they sometimes flower in the first year, but I wouldn't think it very likely if sowed now. But don't let that put you off. A good gardener should always be thinking one year ahead, as nothing is instant. And Lupins sowed now will give a magnificent display next year. In the meantime, you will have the foliage to look at, which is really nice.

I am a great fan of sowing seeds. It is so cheap. You can pay £6 or more for a single plant, but you can easily get 20 plants from a packet of seed - that's £120's worth!

 

The 'spikey plants' are Australian cordylines Peter, just planted last year in place of a Pampas grass that had become too large, and they are coming along nicely
I recall my brother complaining to me some years ago about sowing 'Sweet William' seeds. Because they wouldn't flower that year, he decided not to bother
The next year (and we all know just how quickly the 'next year' appears these days, .... he was
distraught that he hadn't done so
The moral of the story? gardening is a continual process ......

 

They look fantastic.
I have sown some lupin russell mixed seeds in trays, that are now about 1" tall. Can all you lupin experts please give me any advice on what to do now? do i pot them on into 3" pots or plant them out into the garden, never grew these before, (or any thing else for that matter).

Thank you

 

PeterS how do I know when Lupin Seed is ready I want to cut fading blooms from my lupin to encourage more but I also want some seed - I have some at the moment which are brown at the bottom with green pods - would I need to hang these for a while if I cut the spike off now? (The top of the spike is still flowering) or would the seeds not be ready yet?

 

Beautiful show of lupins!

I had a few in my new border until the torrential storm we had fairly recently put paid to them, but have the seed heads to use for another border

 

I love lupins but so do the slugs :(

Those displays look beautiful :thumb: