Lupin seedling development

Lucky Robbo,

If your Lupin does grow back.

In my case I thought there was a Lupin in there and it turned out to be a Paeonia that the old lady before us had planted and we just opened up the soil for it to grow.
Bonus on our part.

 

Will have to train it to stay on my side of the fence.....Cheers

 

Sorry to jump In on this thread but, I too am growing lupin's for the first time and I'm after a bit of advice. Mine are about five cms tall and have their first set of true leaves. I am just about to repot them as they are taking over their current seed trays. Do I need to feed them with anything or will they happily trundle on by themselves? We are in east Anglian and they are currently on my bedroom window sill

 

If you are re-potting into brand new Multi-purpose Compost then that should contain enough nutrients for 6 weeks or so. Giving them some weak feed won't hurt though (although i think that Lupins are part of the pea family, so can "make" their only Nitrogenous fertilizer by symbiotic relationship with bacteria in nodules on their roots)

 

I've not fed Lupins from the point of germination to when they are planted out. In fact I don't feed any seedlings. The compost should be enough to see them through.

 

Can I lob in a Left field entry.
I planted Lupins for a couple of years and they were "Slugged" straight off.
I then started surrounding the plants with Slug Pellets and had success.
I collected Lupin seeds last year, following a strong show from my 2 plants and placed them in a flat tray of Multi-purpose compost in the greenhouse over winter.
Initially there was some growth, which were then killed off by the frost.
In Febuary - just in case - I watered the tray and within a few days there were leaves showing. The initial pair of leaves have since sprouted true Lupin leaves and I have successfully transplanted into 6-pot trays. Currently they are 3" tall and going well.
The original plants were cut back to ground level when they died back. They are now 8" tall and growing strongly.
It seems that you can get away with almost anything with Lupins - so there's hope for all!

 

They are fairly tough gcc. At my last house I lived amongst farmland that was rife with rabbits. Lupins were pretty much the only thing they didn't eat apart from daffodils.

 

Lupins in my experiance are very hardy plants and very easy to grow from seed. They seem to do well in most situations, can handle full sun although prefers part shade/sun. I even have one growing in shade. The only thing they dont like is dry sun. If you soil gets very dry then they seem to grow ok, but go over very quickly, often producing a very poor second flush of flowers. They also get ragged and fall apart. Moist soil and sun, ok though.
With regards to propagation. Ive found sowing the seeds in July/Aug work well. Its gives the plant three months to get going and establish a decent root, then over winter, they are very hardy, then pot on in Feb/Mar and plant out in April. The plants seem that bit bigger and stronger.

Hope it helps.

G

 

Seeds are in pots in the propogater,do i cover them to keep out the light till they germinate............

 

No. As i have said Lupins are hardy and can handle a lot. If your propogater is on a bright window cill in doors, just pop two seeds in each pot, water and leave them be until they germinate. When you see their first two "proper" leaves, then you can prick out to bigger pots. Dont forget, if they are in doors then they will need to be hardened off before planting outside.

G

 

I would put the pots in clear plastic (e.g. "freezer") bags. That will keep the moisture in, humidity up, and assist germination (otherwise the surface of the compost may dry out and delay/prevent germination)

 

I've currently got a couple of dozen lupin seedlings coming through and several with their first true leaf, they've lived all their life indoors on a window sill with good sun light.

Can anyone suggest when I can put them outside into my 99p pocket-money special blow away plastic greenhouse please? They'll get fairly good direct sunlight. I think we're past the frosts now but it still gets down to -3C.

 

No not yet nFrost, if you put them out now the cold will kill them off. Mine are still patiently waiting on a window sill. The temperature needs to be well into + figures overnight. I don't think any of my seedlings will make it to the greenhouse before the end of March, a particularly cold one this year.

 

I agree with Sheal. Lupins are very hardy and you may well find seedlings outside even now. But thats for plants that have spend a long period outside and are acclimatised.

Anything grown inside will be soft and unable to survive outside for some time yet.

 

okay, thank you for the info.