Lupinus luteus
Yellow Lupine
Common names: Yellow Sweet Lupine, Feed Lupine
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Lifespan
- Annual
- Hardiness
- Cold damage below −5 °C
- Water need
- Low
Photo: Patrice78500 · Public Domain · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
The Yellow Lupine is a specialist for acidic, light sandy soils and drives its strong taproot deep into the substrate. Through its nitrogen-fixing actinobacteria it fixes large amounts of atmospheric nitrogen and also captures otherwise unavailable phosphate with its roots. Its yellow, fragrant flower spikes are also a valuable forage for bees.
Care instructions
Sow the Yellow Lupine from April to June (weeks 14 to 26) on acidic to neutral, low-calcium soils, it does not thrive on calcareous soils. Plant the seeds about three centimeters deep. Cut back or mow the stand at flowering (July, week 28) and work it in flat before the stems harden.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingApr–Jun
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 8 °C, ideally 18 °C
- Days to sprout
- 7 to 14 days
- Light
- Needs darkness to sprout
- Sowing depth
- 2 cm
- How to start
- Sow straight into the bed
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
sandy, well-drained, lean, lime-avoiding
The yellow lupin is a pronounced lime hater: on calcareous or freshly limed soils it gets chlorosis, so you need lime-free, slightly to moderately acidic soil (pH about 4.6 to 6.0) on sandy to sandy-loamy, deep ground. Ensure good drainage without waterlogging and avoid heavy clay soils; measure the pH before sowing and, if it is above 6, rather find a different spot.
Feeding
Light feeder
Months
Mar–Apr
As a legume, the yellow lupin fixes its own nitrogen through nodule bacteria; you do not need nitrogen feeding and it would even do harm, because it inhibits nodule formation and promotes lush foliage at the expense of flowers. On the typical lean sandy soils, a little mature compost worked in shallowly in spring at sowing is enough. If you use it as a green manure, work the plant mass shallowly into the soil around flowering so that the fixed nitrogen benefits the following crop.
Overwintering
The yellow lupin is an annual. It dies after seed ripening in autumn and does not survive the Central European winter; collect ripe seeds and store them dry and cool, or let the plants self-seed, and sow directly outdoors from March/April. As a green manure, you mow the plant mass before winter and leave it lying on the bed as a mulch layer.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
The yellow lupin is an annual and is propagated exclusively by sowing. Sow the seeds directly in the bed from April to May, as soon as no severe frost is expected, or from as early as March as a green manure. The hard seed coat makes germination difficult: briefly rub the seeds between two sheets of sandpaper beforehand or soak them in lukewarm water for 24 hours. This noticeably speeds up emergence. Push the seeds 2 to 3 cm deep into loose, lime-poor and free-draining (sandy) soil; lupins need darkness to germinate, so cover them well with soil so that no light reaches the seeds. Choose a sunny, wind-sheltered spot; it does not thrive in shade. The species forms nodules with rhizobia (nitrogen fixers) and therefore needs hardly any nitrogen; it feels at home on lean, slightly acidic sandy soils. If you collect your own seed, let the pods dry completely on the plant and turn brown before you harvest them. This preserves viability. Note: cuttings and division are not suitable for this annual species; these methods apply only to perennial lupins.
Companion planting
Good neighbors
cabbage family (Brassicaceae)
particularly well establishedLeguminous plants collect nitrogen in the soil, from which Brassicaceae benefit as heavy feeders.
For example White cabbageKohlrabiRadishKalebroccolicauliflower and 41 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
carrot family (Apiaceae)
Peas and beans provide carrot and celery with nitrogen and grow as shallow-rooted plants without competition next to each other.
For example CarrotCeleriacDillParsleyFlorence fennelCoriander and 21 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
Rather not
amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae)
particularly well establishedAllium species inhibit the nitrogen‑fixing rhizobia of legumes through their root exudates, which slows their growth.
For example GarlicOnionLeekChivesWild daffodilRocambole and 12 more species in the catalogue
Source: basic crop‑rotation rule
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
For your garden
Grow Yellow Lupine yourself
Gartenkern tells you when frost is coming, when to sow and when to harvest, for your location.
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