Wild lupine

Questions about wild lupine

Does wild lupine need sun or shade?

Wild lupine 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 dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled.

What zones does wild lupine grow in?

USDA zones 3 to 8. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °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 wild lupine flower in my zone?

In zone 5 it flowers mid May to late June. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.

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 wild lupine be planted?

12 in (30 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is about its full width, so each plant keeps its own outline.

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 wild lupine plants do I need?

At 12 in apart, set out in staggered rows:

• 12 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
• 11 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
• 38 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 wild lupine 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.

Rated from NC State Extension. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.

Is there a pet-safe plant like wild lupine?

These come closest to doing what wild lupine does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:

• Hairy beardtongue: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; belongs at the front, not in the middle, lavender, not blue.
• Balloon flower: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 4 in taller, flowers early July to mid August.
• Speedwell 'Red Fox': the same job in a bed; belongs at the front, not in the middle, 6 in shorter.

Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.

Do deer eat wild lupine?

They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.

What flowers after wild lupine?

Wild lupine is over by late June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:

• Butterfly weed: from late June to early August, 24 in tall (a recorded partner).
• Black-eyed Susan: from mid July to mid September, 24 in tall.
• Yarrow: from mid June to late August, 24 in tall.

What does wild lupine look like in winter?

Wild lupine dies down, but leave the stems standing: the seed heads stand through the winter, and songbirds eat the seed. Cut them down in early spring, before the new shoots come.

Is wild lupine good for bees and butterflies?

Wild lupine is visited by pollinators, bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and songbirds.

It is a host plant: the caterpillars of karner blue (at risk) feed on its leaves. A butterfly can only lay its eggs on its host plants, so these do more for it than any nectar flower.

It is native to the United States and Canada.