My Corner Online
Lupinus hartwegii nanus | Lupine Pixie Delight Dwarf, Lupin, Bluebonnet
Lupinus hartwegii nanus | Lupine Pixie Delight Dwarf, Lupin, Bluebonnet
Fabaceae (Pea Family) Pronounced fuh·bay·see·eye
My species is 12 inches in height, and the flower spikes are 8 inches, but some can be 3 to 4 feet tall; I like that I found a short variety! My species is a hybrid annual.
I am liking this plant and would grow these seeds again. This plant could reseed naturally as well. I intend to deadhead the flowers and drop them to the ground in hopes that they do reseed.
The plant likes sun, but dislikes heat and humidity.
I planted the seeds in May and they bloomed in August. Because we were working on installing drainage pipes, I planted them later than I would have liked to in 2024.
The Lupine flower is a tall spike. The flowers can be white, pink, blue, and purple. Some are also bicolor which is cool, and can have purple-dotted white or yellow markings. That will be fun to look for! So far I have just a light purple color which is pleasing.
It fits so well in many types of gardens, from formal, to cottage, to naturalistic, and to wildflower meadow-like. I think that’s why I like it so much as I like all those types of gardens.
Lupines are nitrogen-fixers in that they make nitrogen available to surrounding plants.
Seed scarification is recommended when planting. That is to nick or scar the hard coating on the seeds before planting so that the seeds can absorb water. It is also recommended to soak the seeds in water overnight before planting to jump-start germination and faster growing.
This species is a native to Mexico.
I note some other varieties are:
Lupinus perennis | Wild Blue Lupine, Sundial Lupine, Wild Perennial Lupine – it's leaves look similar to my species; It is a native to North America and grows in the prairies, open woodlands, and alongside roads; It is drought and heat tolerant and has blue, pink or purple flowers
Lupinus latifolius | Broadleaf lupine – This plant gets up to 4 feet tall and has purple cone-shaped flowers from April to July; it likes moist soil and full sun to part shade
Lupinus polyphyllus | Bigleaf lupine – It seems the lupine can be differentiated by leaves.
