When Do Lupins Start To Come Back

When Do Lupins Start To Come Back?

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If you are excitedly waiting for your lupins to start poking their heads above soil again then I know how you feel. But when should you be expecting them? Let’s have a look and find out when lupins start to come back.

When Do Lupins Start To Come Back
When Do Lupins Start To Come Back

When Can You Expect To See Your Lupins?

Lupins start to come back in early spring. You will start to see shoots appearing as early as February or maybe even January if we have had a particularly mild winter!

Lupins in March
Lupins in March

This is one of my lupins in mid-march, and you can see that it is already a big plant by this time! There are no flower spikes at all yet but it is already a sizeable plant.

This lupin started to appear in early February. One thing to bear in mind is your location, I am in northern England so everything here will be a week or two behind southern England but a week ahead of Scotland.

Everything is relative when it comes to gardening.

When Will They Flower?

Now this one can vary a lot more depending on a lot of different factors. The weather is the one factor that you can’t control.

What makes the biggest difference to flowering time is the health of your plant. if you have a large healthy lupin that is well established and thriving then you can expect flowers earlier in the season.

Flower Spike In May
Flower Spike In May

This is the same plant that you saw earlier in march, this photo was taken at the beginning of May and you can see the first flower spike appearing.

This spike went on to open and flower a couple of weeks later.

What Do You Do With Lupins In The Winter?

I personally just leave my lupins in the ground over winter. I cut back all of the foliage in autumn when it starts to die back and then simply leave the plants alone and they will be back next spring.

If you are growing your lupins in a pot then you might want to think about moving them into a sheltered spot like a greenhouse or shed, but they can survive just left outside.

another problem can arise if you have really damp and heavy soil. With this type of soil the plants are more likely to suffer from frost damage so you might want to think about lifting and storing the roots over winter.

More on Lupins

Lupins are a beautiful flower that you will find in many British gardens. Lupins are a staple of British cottage gardens, famed for both their height and colour. Originally hailing from the Mediterranean they are a perennial that will greet you with a gorgeous display year after year.

Lupins in a border
Lupins in a border

They produce a large flowering spike that is full of colour and each plant can have lots of these spikes leading to a fabulous display. They will begin to flower around may and can last well into June. The flowers do go to seed quite quickly but your lupin will continue to produce more and more new spikes.

To get the best out of these spikes though it is essential to deadhead the old spikes to give the new ones a chance to flourish. Also cutting your lupins back in autumn can help them the following spring. The seeds are edible but if not treated properly first they can be poisonous to animals and humans. Greenfly can be a common problem for lupins here in the UK.

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2 Comments

    1. It does look unlikely at this stage. They should be putting on a lot of growth right now

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