Lupine

Lupinus polyphyllus

flower

Big Leaf Lupine is the showy garden lupine, a clump-forming perennial native to the Pacific Northwest that throws dramatic 3 to 5 ft vertical spikes of pea-shaped flowers in blue, purple, pink, white, or bicolor against handsome palmate leaves. As a legume it fixes its own nitrogen and improves the soil, and its spires draw bumblebees and other long-tongued pollinators in droves. Lupines prefer cool summers and short-lived but reseed and divide easily.

✅ Plant alongside

Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests

• Peony: Classic English cottage garden pair - the cabbage-like peony foliage hides lupines bare-knee base
• Bearded Iris: Both perennials peak at the same season and share well-drained conditions
• Columbine: Cool-season companion that fills in around lupine clumps and shares the same conditions
• Yarrow: Draws hoverflies that prey on aphids, lupines main pest

🛡️ Pest & disease prevention

Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts. Tap a name with an arrow for its full guide

• Aphids →

  Lupines magnetically attract aphids, particularly the lupine aphid; hose off colonies and plant yarrow or alyssum nearby for hoverflies

• Slugs →

  Cool damp spring weather brings out slugs that shred emerging shoots; use grit, traps, or handpick at night

• Powdery mildew →

  Give plants airflow, water at the base, and remove infected lower leaves; mildew tends to follow drought stress

• Anthracnose →

  Clean up infected debris in fall and improve drainage; the disease worsens in wet heavy soil

🌸 Blooms & cutting

Cut lupine for the vase when about a third of the lowest florets on the spike are open and the rest are still buds; later-stage spikes shatter. Strip the lower leaves, sear the cut stem in hot water for 30 seconds to seal the latex, then condition in cool water overnight. Vase life is about 5 to 7 days. Cut spent spikes back to a basal leaf to encourage a smaller secondary flush.

🥗 Nutrition & benefits

A pollinator powerhouse: the spires are perfectly built for bumblebees, which lever open the flowers, and they feed native long-tongued bees that other shorter flowers leave hungry. As a nitrogen-fixing legume, lupine also improves soil fertility for the next crop. Note: the seeds of garden lupine contain alkaloids and are not edible - only specific sweet lupin cultivars are food crops.

⚠️ Toxicity & safety

Toxic - do not eat. The seeds and all parts of garden lupine contain bitter quinolizidine alkaloids and are not edible (unlike specially processed lupini beans, which are a different, treated crop). Poisoning can cause trembling and convulsions, and children are especially sensitive. Grow as an ornamental only.