Lupine Gallery Series
Lupinus (Gallery Series) · Fabaceae
A dwarf strain with dense spikes of pea flowers in blue, pink, red, white or yellow, over mounds of fingered leaves, at half the usual height.
- Size
- 20 in tall, 16 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Late May to early July
- Pets
- Toxic (mild)
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around lupine Gallery Series
The planner designed this bed around lupine Gallery Series when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why lupine Gallery Series stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Lupine Gallery Series × 3, blue
- 2 Winter heath × 5, pink
- 3 Leadwort × 12, blue
- 4 Little bluestem 'The Blues' × 8, tan
- 5 Common milkweed × 3, pink
- 6 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 3, purple
- 8 Darwin hybrid tulip × 5, red
Why this plant
- Nothing here is unique to it. Its leaf, flower shape and colour are all on the plan already. Its case rests on where it stands and when it performs.
Why here
- In the middle. At 20 in it is the step between leadwort (10 in) in front and little bluestem 'The Blues' (3 ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for six weeks. From late May to early July.
- Fills a gap. For two of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a cottage garden: 32 of the 32 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. Something is in flower for 37 weeks, from late January to early October. The scheme leans cool (blue, pink and purple) and uses red for warmth, with tan to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 14 Excellent, 2 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Common milkweed spreads aggressively. Each plant's details say more.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where lupine Gallery Series goes in a border
At 20 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium short (18 to 24 in).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
Lupines for a small bed or a pot. Like all lupines they hate heat, humidity and lime, and are best treated as short-lived. Cut the first spikes for a second flush.
- Spires at the front of a border
- Containers
- Cool-summer gardens
What to plant with lupine Gallery Series
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Catmint 'Walker's Low': in flower together for six weeks, from late May; a low mound at the foot of its spires.
- Lady's mantle: red against green, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for six weeks; a low mound at the foot of its spires.
- Siberian iris: purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for four weeks.
Questions about lupine Gallery Series
Does lupine Gallery Series need sun or shade?
Lupine Gallery Series grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does lupine Gallery Series grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does lupine Gallery Series flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late May to early July. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 4 | Early June to mid July |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late May to early July |
| Zone 6 | Late May to early July |
| Zone 7 | Mid May to late June |
| Zone 8 | Early May to late June |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should lupine Gallery Series be planted?
14 in (35 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 16 in (40 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 20 in (50 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many lupine Gallery Series plants do I need?
At 14 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 9 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 9 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 28 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is lupine Gallery Series poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: mild toxicity to people, dogs, cats and horses. Poisonous only if eaten in quantity. The seeds are the most poisonous part.
Is there a pet-safe plant like lupine Gallery Series?
These come closest to doing what lupine Gallery Series does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Wood sage 'East Friesland': the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers late May to late July, purple, not blue.
- Spike speedwell: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers late June to early August.
- Clustered bellflower: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; purple, not blue, wants moist soil.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after lupine Gallery Series?
Lupine Gallery Series is over by early July. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Black-eyed Susan: from mid July to mid September, 24 in tall.
- Butterfly weed: from late June to early August, 24 in tall.
- Daylily: from late June to early August, 2½ ft tall.
What does lupine Gallery Series look like in winter?
Lupine Gallery Series dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Lupinus
- Lupine Lupinus polyphyllus
- Wild lupine Lupinus perennis
In these guides
- Garden plants toxic to cats
- Garden plants toxic to dogs
- Plants with spires: vertical accents
- Plants with blue flowers
- Plants for a white garden
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 20 in (50 cm) tall, 16 in (40 cm) wide
- Plant
- 14 in (35 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium short (18 to 24 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Late May to early July; upright spires; blue, pink, red, white, yellow
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Fabaceae
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.