Garden lupineis an annual plant with an interesting habit and nice spiky inflorescences.Growing garden lupineis very easy and can be sown straight into the ground. This makes garden lupine an excellent plant for beginner gardeners. Meet interestingvarieties of garden lupineand learn how to combat possiblelupine diseasesthat can threaten plants in your garden.
Lupine garden - Lupinus hybridus
Garden lupine - cultivation
About 80 species of mostly American lupins are known. Of the annual species, the most common is the multi-hybrid -garden lupine(Lupinus hybridus). It combines the beneficial features of many species, and at the same timecultivating garden lupineis extremely simple.
Garden lupinehas a very decorative habit. The shoots end in clusters of multicolored inflorescences of various colors, appearing from June to early September. They are surrounded by palm leaves, intensely green in color. Garden lupine grows up to 50-100 cm in height.
Garden lupine has very low cultivation requirements . It grows best in a sunny position and in sandy, calcium-poor soil. However, it must be remembered that it is sensitive to drought and heat.
Lupine seeds are sowndirectly to a permanent site at the end of April or the beginning of May, in either sowing or spot sowing.The distance between the plants should be 25x40 cm. Garden lupine is suitable primarily for creating rebate groups and sowing slopes. It works great in rural and naturalistic gardens.
To extend the flowering of lupineit is worth cutting the inflorescences immediately after flowering, thus stimulating the plant to bloom again in the same year.
Good to know!Like all plants of the Fabaceae family, garden lupine binds free nitrogen from the air and thus enriches the soil with this nutrient. Therefore, it is a good forecrop for other crops. In landscaping, it can combine the function of an ornamental plant, as well as a plant intended for green fertilizer.
Garden lupine - varieties
The varieties of garden lupinehave flowers of many colors, ranging from white, yellow through red, blue and purple. There are alsovarieties of lupine with bicolor flowers In addition to the colors, garden lupine varieties can also be divided into low (up to 50 cm high) and tall.
varieties of garden lupinesuch as:
- Garden lupine 'Atricoccineus'flower color from pink to slightly red,
- Garden lupine 'Nigrescens'about dark blue flowers
- Garden lupine 'President Cleveland'about full, purple flowers
All thevarieties of garden lupineare presented in large, colorful groups. Often, garden lupine seeds are offered in the so-called color mixtures.
Garden lupine works well in naturalized plantings
Garden lupine - diseases
Garden lupineis usually not attacked by pathogens, but due to bad weather or cultivation errors, it can suffer from diseases such as powdery mildew, downy mildew or rust.
Powdery mildew is a disease of garden lupinemanifested on the top of the leaf blade in the form of a white powdery coating. After a dozen or so days, the raid darkens and the spores are transferred to neighboring plants. The disease is favored by frequent rainfall and large differences in air humidity during the day and night. When the garden lupine is infected with powdery mildew, the plants should be sprayed 3 times alternately with plant protection agents Discus 500 WG and Amistar 250 SC.
Anotherdisease of garden lupine is downy mildewIt manifests as light yellow, irregular, elongated spots with a delicate white coating on the underside of the leaves that is difficult to wipe off. When fighting downy mildew, it is worth reaching for such protection products as Discus 500 WG and Baymat AL, spraying them alternately 2-3 times at intervals every 14 days.
Lupine rust is a fungal diseasethat attacks in summer and manifests itself with numerous, round patches of yellow color.Orange spore clusters of the fungus are on the underside of the blade, and the affected leaves die as a consequence. When fighting thisdangerous garden lupine diseaseit is worth reaching for the Baymat AL or Falcon 460 EC agent.
MSc Eng. Joanna Białowąs
