Wild Lupine

Description:

20" (or taller, up to 3 feet tall in my experience) Upright elongated clusters of **blue 1/2" pea flowers atop erect stems. Leaves palmately divided into 7-11 Lanceolate leaflets Blooms- May through July.* *Lupine is typically not a spring flower around here. It usually begins growing and blooming in July and August. This year was the very first year I have had Lupine flowers in time for my birthday! (June 3). The flower season is really zipping by us this year.

Habitat:

Dry woods, fields

Notes:

**I actually harvest Lupine seeds from the wild. When Lupine flowers fall off, a green (sometimes reddish) furry pod replaces it. Gradually, the pod dries and opens, releasing the seeds onto the ground. What I do is I go out when the pods are really dry and collect pods (carefully, because at this point, just a little pressure can pop the pod and make it release the seeds). Every year I collect hundreds of seeds. I remove all the seeds from their pods and store them in a container. The seeds can be scattered in the fall and will begin to grow in the spring. They are rugged plants, but it may take another winter before it is old enough to flower. They are prone to attack by aphids, which are tiny stem green insects with wings that will eat leaves and especially the flowers. Lupine actually come in a variety of colors in the wild. I have seen them in different shades of pink, purple, pink and white, purple and white, purple and pink, and a muted pink and purple (as if someone added white paint in with the colors) and in just white which are harder to find. I will go into the woods or wherever the lupine growns and will flag Lupine plants of a desired color, even though I've been told they do not grow true to their color (meaning a pink flower may be a different color the next year.) In the fall after the flowers have all gone by, you can cut the Lupine down and it will continue to grow, even through some snowfall. They will be green and ready to grow before all the snow melts from the ground.