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Lupin alternatives

strelitzia32strelitzia32 Posts: 758
in Plants
I'm finally giving up on lupins. They're one of my favorite plants, but all of mine have been decimated by aphids this year. Now I've got big gaps in pots and borders.

I want to replace them with something similar: tall flowering spires habit, chunky appearance, blues and pinks, pollinator friendly, late spring to summer flowering, interesting foliage, perennial and ideally hardy evergreen.

Any suggestions please?
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Posts

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Baptisia australis?  Not such a chunky flower stem and the main colour is blue but other colours are available.   Probably get seeds form Chilterns or Plant World or similar.

    https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/1980/Baptisia-australis/Details 

    Anchusa azurea is another good, tall blue flower - https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/27339/i-Anchusa-azurea-i/Details 

    I have grown both and had no bother with aphids.  i'll be sowing some for this new, to us, garden just as soon as we make the flower beds I need.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • Alan Clark2 in LiverpoolAlan Clark2 in Liverpool Posts: 2,190
    Baptisia australis comes in various colours and is similar in appearance to lupins (they are both members of the Pea family). It seems to be less fussy - I have not been able to grow lupins in my garden but Baptisia does well.
  • rebeccamM6CA_Gn6rebeccamM6CA_Gn6 Posts: 133
    Oh I'm sorry to hear about your aphid problems. I have the very same battle ongoing here. Desperate for some natural predators to catch onto them. WELL, they're not exactly spires, but they are tall and stately, and do like being in pots, so perhaps some Agapanthus 'brilliant blue" or another one of the blue coloured varieties? Good luck!
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    edited June 2020
    Stachys 'Hummelo' might be worth a look, it's like a Salvia but the flower spikes are fat and chunky, albeit a bit smaller than a lupin. Or Liatris, perhaps. Thermopsis is the closest I can think of but it's yellow. Veronicastrum has lovely spires but is more tall and willowy than chunky.
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • strelitzia32strelitzia32 Posts: 758
    Thank you for all the suggestions. I'm going to look through these (not immediately familiar with some of them) and hopefully find a great replacement!
  • Blue OnionBlue Onion Posts: 2,995
    Penstemon?  Mine are the most beautiful shade of indigo.  Or dwarf hollyhocks?
    Utah, USA.
  • Alan Clark2 in LiverpoolAlan Clark2 in Liverpool Posts: 2,190
    Galega officinalis is another large member of the pea family, unfussy, with a long flowering season, but not evergreen.

    https://www.google.com/search?q=galega+officinalis&sxsrf=ALeKk03jBxxGd9P0XFBmX7L6fwX-uY60Hg:1591730320218&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwia_cHCufXpAhUUVRUIHcYxDbAQ_AUoAXoECBYQAw&biw=1809&bih=1018
  • strelitzia32strelitzia32 Posts: 758
    Thanks all.

    Penstemon is a good idea, not sure how happy they are in containers though?

    I like the Galega officinalis and stachys too. Agapanthus is a personal favorite but it won't work in the spaces I need to fill, plus I've already got some in the ground close by (although wondering where the Agapanthus twister I planted last year has gone).

    When I get a moment I'll post a photo of the space left by the aphidized lupin. I've stuck a frame and morning glory in there for the moment, just to fill the giant, annoying hole. Really annoyed I lost the lupins, they were huge.
  • rebeccamM6CA_Gn6rebeccamM6CA_Gn6 Posts: 133
    @strelitzia32 - Many of my friends have had loads of aphids this year too. I have SO many ants and they are farming them into oblivion on so many little shoots and stems. I can't find the main ant nest HQ atm. Maybe the hot weather we've had hasn't helped? Onwards and upwards!
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Verbascum might be worth a look. There are lots of newer types available, not just the ginormous yellow ones.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
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