Love for lupines

CAROL ANN HARLOS

Sadly, not all are lupine lovers. Despite their beauty, lupines are hated in Norway, as they crowd out native species.

Photo by Carol Ann Harlos

Do you grow lupines in your garden? If not, I insist you begin. Not only do these plants enrich the soil by fixing it with atmospheric nitrogen, but they possess unsurpassed beauty.

Lupines grow on all the major continents except Antarctica. They are legumes, making them relatives to beans, peas, clovers, and lentils. This short-lived perennial does best in cooler summers. My lupine journey began four years ago when a friend brought me a package of seeds from New Foundland. The directions stated the seeds needed scarification, meaning they don’t allow for the easy entrance of water to begin germination. I stuck the package in the freezer, where it sat for a few months.

In early March of that year, I took the package out and sowed the seeds in sterile seed-starting mix. I lightly moistened the mix and placed the entire tray in a plastic bag on top of heater cables. Four days later, I saw green. Practically all seeds had germinated!

In April, I transplanted the seedlings into loose potting mix and kept them under grow lights, which I gradually raised as the plants grew. In May, I put the plants into my porch greenhouse to slowly harden them off. The young plants were several inches tall by the month's end.

I carefully planted the lupines in a protected area in the front garden. Some (not all) bloomed the first year into lovely spires of flowers in different colors: pink, red, blue,

Sadly, not all are lupine lovers. Despite their beauty, lupines are hated in Norway, as they crowd out native species

Photo by Carol Ann Harlos