Lupins

Gwenr · August 2020

My lupins have given me a lovely show this year, even though we are in the south east and have had hardly any rain, the flowers have been lovely. The problem now is they are very tall and the stems very thick and when I cut one of the stems it was hollow. Would now be the right time to cut the lupins down, they have produced new leaves from the bottom of the plant, but the upper part looks really sorry for its self. Will the fact the stems are hollow have an impact on the plant as when we do get rain the stem will fill up with water, is this normal?

strelitzia32 · August 2020

Lupin stems are indeed hollow, you can leave some stem standing to give a home to bees or insects over the winter.

I'm not sure if your lupins are in a pot or in the ground, but keep them watered in this heat and give them a feed, you'll get a great display next year.

Lucky you avoided the aphids!

Gwenr · August 2020

strelitzia32 said:

Lupin stems are indeed hollow, you can leave some stem standing to give a home to bees or insects over the winter.

I'm not sure if your lupins are in a pot or in the ground, but keep them watered in this heat and give them a feed, you'll get a great display next year.

Lucky you avoided the aphids!

They are in the ground, we dug up all the grass last year and turned the who garden into a cottage garden, I even managed to grow some lupins from seed, first time I've succeded, so really pleased, but is now the right time to cut them down to the ground?

JennyJ · August 2020

You can cut the old stems down now or leave until autumn or spring, it's up to you. They will die off over the winter anyway and make new growth from the crown in spring. Leave the new leaves that are growing lower down until they die off because they will be feeding the plant to build up the crown ready for for next year.

Lupins

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