What kind of lupins are, when to plant, what kind of soil does this plant prefer, is it possible to grow them from seeds - let's take a closer look. The beauty of these flowers inevitably attracts the eyes and makes you want to plant them in your garden. The multicolor is amazing, they can be white, yellow, red, pink, blue, dark red and even tricolor. Look great in company with other garden flowers, decorate flower beds, paths, alpine slides.
When do lupins bloom? This time comes with the arrival of the calendar summer - in June, lasts about a month. It is noteworthy that perennial representatives can produce color twice per season — in the second half of July, and then in August.
There are about 200 species of this decorative flower, they are all similar to each other( the shape of the candle, the leaves look like palm), have insignificant differences in the structure of the inflorescences.
Leaf after rain Lupine, a plant of the legume family, can be both annual and perennial, has thick long roots that rush in about 2 meters. In addition to the work of the roots, the ground part also makes its contribution to the enrichment of the soil. It is cut and buried in the ground to a depth of about 20 cm, there it safely rot, thereby giving the soil useful substances, lowers acidity.
With all its decorative qualities, this plant is a fodder and green manure crop.
Inflorescences and leaves, photo:
Lupine as a siderat and fertilizer
The seeds, as well as the green part of the plant, are very rich in protein( 40-50%), while the process of toxic bitter alkaloids is also high. According to the content of toxic substances in the composition of lupins are bitter, low alkaloid, sweet. Bitter species are used to fertilize the soil, but sweet and low-alkaloid varieties can be used as animal feed. This plant crop is very fruitful; white lupine, yellow, and blue( still called narrow-leaved) are grown to obtain feedstock. Fertilizers are most often sown perennial crops.
White Lupine can reach a height of one and a half meters, it comfortably tolerates drought - this is the most common variety.
Flowers of this species can be white, pale pink, pale blue. This is the most excellent green manure for poor soil with a high level of acidity( it deoxidizes it).It grows well and is gaining green mass even on barren soil. Recommended for sowing on loam and sandy soil - increases their fertility, can completely replace the manure. White roots are found in bacteria that are good for the soil, they convert poorly soluble phosphates into accessible forms. After removal of the ground part of the plant( cutting), the roots decompose in the soil, turning into easily digestible dressing. As a result, the soil is enriched with humus, organic components.
Yellow lupine is also an excellent green manure, heals the soil, improves its structure, increases fertility without any chemical effects. This culture is simply a record for saturation of soil with nitrogen, after its presence on the field remains 200-250 kg of nitrogen / ha in the most appropriate form for future plantings. Sow yellow quite early, and when beans form at it, it is time to mow.
Lupine, as a sider, not only nourishes the soil, but also well loosens it. As already mentioned, this plant has a developed, powerful root system. Roots branch out in different directions - thus, the earth loosens, mineral compounds of the soil rise to the upper layers. This culture enhances the drainage properties of the soil, contributes to its recultivation, after seeding this culture, the soil retains moisture and air better. This plant also serves as a source of nutrition for earthworms, which contributes to higher yields and disease resistance in the future.
The advantages of this plant as a siderata:
- Long roots, going deep into the soil, extracting useful elements from its depths;
- Capacity for assimilation and processing of heavy micro and macro elements of soil;
- Abundant yield, utility comparable to manure;
- Rapid ripening - the plant reaches its desired condition 45-50 days after sowing the seeds.
Lupins poisonous or not? As a feed for farm animals, it acts as a source of ideal easily digestible protein. This is the best option of all leguminous crops available today. Stalks and foliage of plants contain many useful components, grains are a source of fat.
The disadvantage of this situation is the presence of poisonous alkaloids in the plant.
For feeding animals, only yellow or white lupins should be used - they contain the lowest content of toxic substances.
The blue species cannot be used as a fodder crop. Usually the green part of the plant goes to feed in a mixture with other ingredients: silage, wood, artificial feed.
For harvesting fodder and hay, the plant is cut at the stage of bud formation. Yellow lupine is mown before the onset of the formation of beans, white - without waiting for the end of its flowering.
Blue view, photo:
In the field Perennial lupins - planting and care
This is a really unpretentious plant that does not require any special cultivation technology. The most important thing - you need to know what kind of soil prefers lupine, as well as the period of its landing.
This flower feels equally well in shady or sunny places. If you want to achieve the highest decorative rate, then settle it in a shaded area of the site.
He loves a slightly alkaline non-acidic primer, with high acidity he will grow very frail, and on alkaline soils he can get chlorosis. This situation can be changed by first adding dolomite flour( or calcareous acid) to the soil.
Lupine perennial sowed after the descent of snow, approximately in April. A plot of land on which flowers will grow, should be prepared in the fall. Seeds before sowing are recommended to be treated with basezol( 50% solution).With this approach, you can see the first flowers after 12-13 months( they usually bloom by May).
Seeds( beans), photo:
In order to obtain lupine seeds, you should leave several pods on the plant, which will dry, ripen and give you the necessary seed. During flowering, suspended inflorescences are usually removed - this is necessary so that the growth of new flowers is not inhibited, self-seeding does not occur.
Leave a few inflorescences until full maturity( better in August), if you do not have lupins yet, then you can always buy seeds in flower shops. The pod should be completely dry( moisture is unacceptable), the extracted beans should also be thoroughly dried. It is best to store seed material in a glass container or in fabric, paper bags.
Pods, photo:
Reproduction of lupine - different options
If you are going to plant these flowers in the country, then you should know that one-year-old lupine can be propagated only by means of seeds. Perennial species are available for reproduction by seed and cuttings.
содерж to content ↑Reproduction of perennial lupine by cuttings
A stalk is a growth bud that is located on a rosette of leaves at the base of a plant. With the arrival of spring, these buds are carefully cut off and then rooted in open ground( a shaded area is selected).At the site of planting is very desirable to dilute the soil with sand, to give it lightness. Another option is the selection of young shoots from the leaf sinuses, after the plant has faded.
This planting source is rooted in the soil in the same way, the process of adaptation and planting on a new place lasts about 35-40 days. After this time, rooted seedlings can be transferred to flower beds, alpine slides, flower beds. The main thing is not to exceed the recommended period, so that the plant does not have time to take root and take root. Lupine roots react extremely negatively to any interventions, so transplanting will not lead to anything good. For the same reason, this flower is not propagated by dividing the bush.
↑ to content ↑Lupins from seeds - growing
First of all, you need to decide on the sowing dates: it can be autumn or spring. Frost-resistant, self-sown representatives of this culture is preferable to plant in the fall. Around November, when the first frosts were already present, the seeds are slightly( approximately 2–3 cm) buried in the ground, covered with a thin layer of peat. The distance between the future bushes should be about 15 cm. Thus, with the arrival of spring, you will see young growth, and by the end of summer it will give color. If you decide to plant the plants in spring, then choose the first weeks of April, then with the arrival of the next spring you will be able to admire the variety of colors of these beautiful flowers.
Shoots 
Young bushes Lupins, photo:
Tip - for best results, hard lupine seeds should be first scarified( slightly damage the upper layer).To do this, experienced gardeners use one of the following techniques:
- Scratch the bean shell by mechanical means - rub with sandpaper or slightly cut with a sharp object. During these actions, make sure that the inner part of the seed is not damaged. After the scarification, the seed should be soaked for several hours( so that it spreads out).
- Immerse the seeds in a temperature shock( sudden change in temperature) - fold the beans into a clean, thin cloth, then freeze them in the freezer. After being removed from the freezer compartment, they should immediately be dipped into boiling water for a short while. From such a contrast of temperatures the shell of the beans will crack, the desired effect will be achieved.
- Bath from a chemical solution - ten-hour soaking of seeds in a solution of bleach( 10%) or potassium permanganate for 15-20 minutes. Chlorine solution should be taken 2 or 3 drops per glass of water. After exposure, the seed should be thoroughly rinsed with cold water. This method of scarification has an additional antibacterial effect if there is a threat of plant damage by fungi or other diseases.
Next, we proceed to the next stage - lupins from seeds, cultivated in containers. To do this, in the pre-prepared cassette, disposable cups or individual plastic containers we fall asleep soil. Do not forget about the presence of drainage holes at the bottom!
The soil for these plants should include peat, turf, clean river sand. It will not be superfluous to pre-disinfect it by roasting in an oven or microwave, scalding with boiling water will also work. Anyway - the ground for the seedlings should be easy.
Fill the pots with this soil, press down a little, pour water at room temperature. After that, put the beans on top, slightly deepen, re-watering( it is better to use a spray bottle).Next, we cover the containers with plastic film, refer to where it is warm and light.
Vigilantly monitor the level of soil moisture, if necessary, watering, timely remove the condensate. The first shoots should appear after about 2 weeks, at this stage the film should not be removed yet, you can only water it every day, air the shoots( not for long).Remove the "greenhouse" will be possible when the seedlings become stronger.
When spring comes into its own, it becomes warmer on the street, and your seedlings will have 5 or 6 leaves, it will be possible to transplant young lupins for permanent residence. When planting, keep a distance between the bushes - 30-40 cm. Do not miss the time, remember about the sensitive roots of the plant, timely transplant them into the open ground.
Dark-red variety, photo:
How to care for lupine
In the first year of life, this plant has enough of a standard set of “services” - watering, loosening, cleaning weeds. Starting from the second year, supplement the maintenance with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers, which should be added before the beginning of the flowering phase. If the flowers are long enough, set the pegs and tie them up. As mentioned above, dry inflorescences should be promptly removed.
In the fall, all dried plant fragments are cut, the area around the flower is mulched with a suitable material that does not change the pH of the soil. To do this, often use mulch inorganic origin. Those varieties that do not tolerate cold( low frost resistance) should be additionally covered with protection( covering fabric).During the development and growth of a flower, the root neck can become bare; if this happens, then it should be riddled up( covered with a layer of soil).After 4 or 5 years, the plant exhausts its resources, grows old, then it is time to replace it with a young representative, and everything starts all over again.
содерж to the content ↑Lupins - reviews, impressions, recommendations
Lupine Diseases
Lupine is an unpretentious plant, but there are three insidious diseases that await a lupine.
- Fusarium appears as a flower wilting during bud formation and flowering. Also drying of foliage, defeat( rotting) of roots is observed.
- Fomopsis reports about itself with brown spots on the shoots and leaf petioles. Excessive moisture only contributes to the development of the disease, as a result of which the whole flower is affected. The result is a complete drying of the plant.
- Ceratophorosis scatters brown spots all over the ground part, then the flower dries out and loses its "fertility"( no beans are formed).
However, there is good news, with all these misfortunes, the drug known well-known to all gardeners and gardeners - “Fitosporin”, is quite successfully fighting. This product contains copper, is an environmentally-friendly product, it is strongly recommended for use.
This flower is planted as you please - individually or in groups. It will be better if you place these plants at the very end of the beds or flower beds. Their tall stature can be used as a background, planting more undersized counterparts in front of them. It looks great in a company with many garden representatives, and its rich palette would be appropriate to look next to the colors of any shades. Now you also know how to enrich the soil with lupins, growing from seeds, when to plant them, how to care for and multiply.
