Lupins - or is it a pretty weed?

scottishminnie

I don't remember planting a lupin but I now have a deep purple specimen which I think may be a lupin in the corner of my garden. We live in the country surrounded by fields and it has crossed my mind that it may be some awful type of weed. I mentioned it to one of my friends but she has only had lemon/orange/red lupins and was sceptical that purple ones existed. It just has a single flower - about a foot high and very nicely shaped leaves.

Appreciate your views - if it is a weed I don't want it seeding any further, even if it is pretty!

Zazen999

I can't see the picture.

V.Lucky

Are you sure it's not a foxglove? Can you post a picture

scottishminnie

It is a lupin -it's exactly like the one in the top left on the page below. if I'd thought about putting purple lupin into google I'd have saved bothering you all with a stupid question. Sorry.:o (still don't remember planting it though!)

http://www.dishforthnurserygardens.co.uk/Pages/lupins.html

Zazen999

The seed has probably blown in from somewhere else.....nothing to worry about.

MunnyBoiler

Enjoy your free plant!

aberdeen

i love my lupins

they multiple quite quickly make sure it has enough room

ANY_CHANCE

lucky you,
I would love to have lupins in my garden but every time i try to plant them they get eaten

jules1964

ANY_CHANCE wrote: »

lucky you,
I would love to have lupins in my garden but every time i try to plant them they get eaten

mine too, flipping slugs!!!!

Mithos

Lupins are wonderful plants. One of my complete loves to grow.

I learn't recently they actually improve improvished soils by there trait of fixing nitrogen from the air and then it converting it to ammonia for other plants to use.

anudeglory

scottishminnie wrote: »

I mentioned it to one of my friends but she has only had lemon/orange/red lupins and was sceptical that purple ones existed.

Purple ones, I'm pretty sure, are the wild-type that all domestic varieties (colours) come from but that doesn't exclude cultivated varieties from being purple.

They're one of my favourite flowers, along with poppies, and I grew many as a kid - the flower should have a wonderful peppery smell too them My personal favourites are tree lupins (more like a bush and quite delicate and silvery coloured leaves).