PlantSowGrow
How to plant and care for Lupin (Gallery Mixed)
Lupinus polyphyllus
🌸 Flower
🔁 Perennial
Dense, colourful spires in early summer on compact plants that suit small borders. Bumblebees adore them.
When to plant and care for it
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Flowers
Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.
Growing Lupin (Gallery Mixed): what it needs
- Light
- Full sun · 6+ hours a day
- Watering
- Water well until established, then in dry spells
- Soil
- Light, well-drained, slightly acidic soil
- Spacing
- 45 cm
- Height
- 50 cm
- In pots
- Grows well in containers
- Feeding
- No feeding needed
- Hardiness
- USDA zones 4–8
Step by step
- On planting day
Plant
Plant at the same depth as it was in its pot, 45 cm apart, and firm in.
- 0–1 days after “Plant”
Water In Well
Give a full can of water, then keep moist for the first few weeks while roots establish.
- 7–14 days after “Water In Well”
Mulch Around the Base
Spread 5 cm of compost or bark around the plant, keeping it off the stems.
Every year
- MarchGuard Against Slugs
Protect young shoots from slugs and snails.
- MayCheck for Lupin Aphids
Look for grey, waxy lupin aphids on the stems; hose them off.
- JuneIn Flower
Lupins in full flower — take a photo.
- JuneDeadhead
Cut spent spikes back to the leaves for a smaller second flush.
