Lupine - flowering herbs from the legume family. The habitat affects the desert zones of both Americas, northern Africa and the Mediterranean coast. Flowers feel best on rocky embankments or sands. The attitude of gardeners to lupins is ambiguous. It grows too actively and sometimes looks like a weed that requires constant monitoring. At the same time, the plant is an excellent siderat, fodder crop and even a medicine. Its surprisingly beautiful, large inflorescences, similar to fluffy candles, will decorate the flowerbed and mask the beds.
Botanical Description
Lupine is an annual or perennial tall plant. Its name from Latin can be translated as "wolf". The height of the shoots during flowering reaches 1-1.5 m. The root rhizome can grow up to 2 m deep in the soil. It is covered with thickenings and shapeless tubers. They contain nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Erect, branched shoots from the ground often form a slender bush.
Closer to the ground, next stalked leaves of a complex palmate structure grow on stems. At the junction of the petiole with the stem are long stipules forming a small pillow. The sheet plate is plain, it is painted in a bright green color.
The top of the stem is decorated with a long brush, covered with whorls of moth flowers on short pedicels. The corolla in the form of a sail has white, blue, purple, pink colors. Also, inflorescences with a different shade of petals can be located on one plant. In the boat from the lower petals 10 stamens are hidden, their threads at the base are fused. Nearby is a sessile ovary with a capitate stigma.
Pollination is produced by insects. After that, narrow leathery beans ripen, flattened on the sides. They are cream or light brown in color, and several rounded or oblong seeds are hidden inside. Their color and size vary greatly depending on the variety.
Types and varieties of lupine
The genus of lupine is very diverse. It includes more than 600 plant species. Many of them are found only in the wild, but among the cultivated forms the choice is great.
Lupine is multi-leaved. This perennial species lives in North America. It is resistant to frost and grows well in temperate climates. The height of the straight, almost foliage-free stems is 0.8-1.2 m. Large palmate leaves on long petioles rise from the ground. Below, a bright green sheet plate is covered with a pile. An inflorescence 30-35 cm long blooms in June and consists of odorless blue-violet small flowers.
Lupine narrow-leaved. A herbaceous plant 0.8-1.5 m high consists of upright, slightly pubescent stems, rarely covered with palmate leaves. The leaves are divided up to the petiole. There is also a short pile on their back. At the top there is a long racemose inflorescence with white, purple, blue, pink buds. Darker blue veins are visible on the surface of the petals, so the species is often called the “blue lupine”.
Lupine is white. The plant forms a large shrub up to 1.5 m high. Its branches branched from the base are covered by emerald palmate foliage. Silver cilia densely grow along its edges. Segments are bent along the central vein. White flowers with a light pink or blue tint grow in long inflorescences, arranged in a spiral.
Lupine Russell. A group of varieties bred at the beginning of the XX century. breeder George Russell specifically for garden decoration. Inflorescences in plants are especially large (up to 45 cm in length). They exude a gentle pleasant aroma. Among the most interesting varieties distinguish:
- yellow flame
- white flame
- minaret (stunted with dense hands);
- fireworks (two-color buds on shoots up to 120 cm in height).
Lupine is perennial. Dense, stable vegetation up to 120 cm high lives in North America, right up to the Arctic Ocean. The base of the sprouts is covered with petiole leaves with oval segments. At the top is a shorter but denser brush with blue fragrant flowers.
Use in the household
From time to time, plants that improve soil quality (green manure) should be planted in the garden area. One of them is lupine. A developed root system is rapidly developing and effectively loosens the soil. She makes it easier, permeable. At the same time, the roots fasten too light sandy soils, forming a fertile layer and protecting against erosion.
It is best to grow an annual lupine as siderat. In just 2 months, it has been building up a large green mass, which allows the plant to be used after harvesting. During the growth process, nitrogen-fixing bacteria saturate the soil with nutrients, which, when decomposed, process worms and microorganisms. One seeding is similar to the application of 200 kg / ha of nitrogen. Also obtained humus contributes to the uniformity of the earth. To enrich the soil, cut the lupins and dig the site even at the stage of budding. The process of decomposition with sufficient moisture occurs quickly.
Also, the plant is an excellent feed crop. Its fruits contain a lot of fats. Lupine shows the highest productivity on acidic soil. To prepare food for animals, it is customary to use a white and yellow look. Varieties with blue flowers contain too many alkaloids. They not only degrade the taste, but are also poisonous. But it is these alkaloids that repel harmful insects. Parasites eat leaves and die, so blue lupine should be planted near the beds.
Growing lupine
Propagate lupine seeds. Often, if the plant has already appeared on the site, then you do not have to sow it specially. Even with regular cutting of inflorescences, at least a few seeds still fall into the soil. However, varietal characters are split with each subsequent generation. The color of the petals will be dominated by blue and purple colors, so decorative varieties are grown from breeding seeds.
For growing seedlings in March-April, boxes with nutrient soil are prepared:
- peat (40%);
- turf land (40%);
- sand (20%).
Seeds should be pre-scarified and then mixed with grated nodules. So they will be enriched with nitrogen-fixing bacteria and will develop faster. Then the planting material is evenly distributed to a depth of 2-3 cm. After 10-14 days, seedlings appear. When the seedlings grow 2-3 true leaves, it is time to plant it in a permanent place. Later, the root root will begin to bend, which will negatively affect growth.
To improve soil quality, lupins can be sown immediately in open ground. Do it in the late autumn or in April. Pre-prepared grooves at a distance of 15-30 cm from each other. Seeds are distributed in them with a distance of 5-15 cm. Plantings should also be treated with grated old nodules.
Outdoor Care
The plot for the flower garden should be open and sunny. Soils are preferably sandy or loamy, with a slightly acidic or neutral reaction. Previously, the earth should be dug up. Lime or dolomite flour is added to too acidic soil, and peat to too alkaline soil. Seedlings are distributed in shallow pits with a distance of 30-50 cm.
At first, young plants will need regular weeding and loosening of the soil. They often suffer from weed dominance. Later, the bush grows stronger and the problem disappears.
Lupine is a drought tolerant plant. If in the spring young seedlings still need regular watering, then later they become more hardy. Watering them is necessary only with a prolonged absence of precipitation, when the soil cracks.
From the second year, plants are fertilized once a year, in the middle of spring. For this, superphosphate and calcium chloride are scattered near the roots. Use of nitrogen complexes is not necessary.
Tall plants are recommended to prepare a support so that the bush does not fall apart as it grows or from strong gusts of wind. When the inflorescences wither, they should be cut immediately. So you can not only prevent uncontrolled self-seeding, but also stimulate the re-flowering at the end of summer.
Perennial species need to be earthed annually, since the rhizome rises and exposes the root neck. After 5-6 years, the decorativeness of the bush decreases and the flower bed is completely renewed.
Lupins are susceptible to fungal infections (rot, fusarium, mosaic, spotting, rust). Prevention is strict adherence to agricultural technology. Also, you can not grow lupines and legumes for a long time on the site. It is best to plant plants after growing cereals.
The most common pests are aphids, sprout flies and nodule weevils. Insecticides help get rid of them. Solutions are sprayed on the leaves and poured into the soil. When absorbed, these substances enter the plant sap. Parasites die, eating foliage.
Garden use and more
Dense inflorescences, similar to candles, make lupins a wonderful decoration of the site. It is planted in the center or in the middle tier of the flower garden, on rocky slopes, along the curb or walls of buildings. Delphinium, phloxes, hosts, irises and lilies can become neighbors in the flowerbed.
The fruits of lupine can saturate not only animals. Since ancient times in various countries, flour was made from them, which was added to baking, ice cream, confectionery, and hot dishes. A high protein and fat content enhances the nutritional value of such foods.
In traditional medicine, the extract from the plant became the basis of the drug "Iksim Lupine" - a broad-spectrum antibiotic. Traditional healers use a decoction of stems and leaves to treat gangrene, ulcers and tumors.
