1/2-pint plug
Light: Full Sun - Partial Sun
Soil: Dry - Medium
Height: 2 feet
Bloom: May-July
Description: Wild Lupine blooms profusely with blue and purple flowers. Palm-shaped leaves surround the plant as an added attraction, making it a popular choice for gardens or restorations with dry, sandy soils. Lupine requires well-drained soils but will adapt to most dry soil types; sand. loam, and gravel. You can find lupine in oak savanna and sand prairie plant communities. Lupine foliage can look a little worn by the end of summer, so plan for late summer and fall bloomers nearby in the garden. Species of the genus Lupinus are legumes. Most legume species harbor beneficial bacteria called rhizobia on their roots. When ripe, the seedpod explodes aiding in distribution. Birds and small mammals will feed on the seeds. This legume is a host plant of the Karner Blue butterfly, a federally-endangered species native to the Great Lakes region. After Wild Lupine emerges in spring, the first brood of the Karner Blue Butterfly will hatch from eggs laid the previous summer and feed on the new leaves for 3-4 weeks. Once the caterpillars pupate and emerge as butterflies, they only live for a week or two. During this time, they will mate, and lay eggs of the second and final brood of the season. The second brood will hatch in summer, and lay eggs that will lay dormant through the winter and hatch the following spring.
