Lupine
Lupine: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar
Lupins belong to the genus Lupinus, in the pea family, Fabaceae. Their outline combines fan-like leaves with upright flower clusters. The genus includes annuals, perennials and shrubby forms; familiar border lupins are often perennials or garden hybrids. The name therefore specifies neither one life span nor a height shared by every plant. Ornamental selections represent a range of habits within this wider botanical group.The foliage is one of their most recognisable features. Palmate leaves have several leaflets radiating from a central point like the fingers of a hand. Long leaf stalks hold them in a divided mass around the base of flowering stems. Depending on species or selection, the leaflets are narrower or broader and may have small hairs. This texture creates visual interest before and after bloom, when the flower stems no longer dominate the plant’s appearance.Flowers are arranged in upright racemes, sometimes very dense. Their structure resembles pea…
