Rising in pillars of bold colour from cottage gardens, lupins are chocolate-box staples of the British summer border. However, these beloved perennials are not native; many of the 200 species hail from the other side of the Atlantic, where they can be a breathtaking sight in bloom. In the mountains of California, for instance, lupins glow in great blue sweeps; likewise – in Iceland, where it has widely naturalised after being introduced to feed the soil – Lupinus nootkatensis grows in such vast meadows that it draws tourists.
Despite these iconic overseas lupin landscapes, we strongly associate lupins with the traditional English flower border and with the highwayman in Monty Python who takes lupins from rich Brits and gives them to the poor. But this image of Britishness is not so misplaced because these garden forms were in fact bred here. At the beginning of the last century, the main cultivated form was the blue Lupinus polyphyllus, and it was employed (along with other species), in the 1930s, by gardener George Russell on his allotments in York to produce the iconic dense flower towers we know and love as lupins.
What are the different types of lupins?
The traditional perennial border lupins of the quintessential British summer garden send up dense pokers of incredible colour, including peach (Terracotta), red ('My Castle'), yellow ('Chandelier'), raspberry ('The Page'), lavender ('Persian Slipper'), and indigo ('Gallery Blue'). Grape-purple lupins were a feature in more than one garden at the 2025 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, including Monty Don's Dog Garden, in which he employed the brooding damson variety 'Masterpiece' to set off the silvers, greens, and blues around it. The late garden designer and artist Gertrude Jekyll loved growing lupins in her gardens, including at her home, Munstead Wood in Surrey; as a painter, she designed borders by using plants as she would wield brushstrokes, so lupins, with their cathedral-like spires of rich colour and whirls of leaves that look like the open palm of a hand, were perfect.
Although most lupins for sale are these classic Russell-style hybrids, ironically, the new mood for naturalistic planting favours the more widely spaced blooms of species lupins that Russell bred out. Because lupins fix nitrogen and appreciate drainage, these lesser-known lupins are great for trying in the poor, gritty soil of gravel and rubble gardens. For example, the shrubby Lupinus arboreus, which has scented blooms, and low-growing Californian Lupinus chamissonis, which produces blue and purple flowers. Both Chiltern Seeds and Special Plants offer a range of these more unusual lupins, some of which are annuals. Being sought after by bees, they are also a great addition to the wildlife garden.
Where do lupins grow best?
Lupins love an open site in full sun, with their feet in well-drained soil.
Are lupins better in pots or in the ground?
Lupins like a neutral to slightly acidic well-drained soil, so in gardens with very alkaline, very acidic, or waterlogged soil, container growing is often best. Use a loam-based compost, such as John Innes No 2, mixed with grit, in a pot with drainage holes. Since lupin tap roots are long, choose a relatively deep container, but not too large to prevent rotting. Sit the container on pot feet to boost drainage. Feed monthly with tomato food during spring and summer, and water regularly in hot, dry weather.
When is the best time to plant lupins?
April and May are the optimum months to plant out lupins. However, if there is a spring heat wave, wait until the weather cools to plant.
How do you look after lupins?
Water your newly planted lupins regularly, until established. Since they thrive in relatively poor soil, there is no need to feed them, unless they're in pots. Cut out spent flower spikes at the base.
Do lupins come back every year?
Yes, most garden lupins are perennials. Because lupins can be short-lived, they may need replacing every few years, and some gardens (including Great Dixter) treat them as biennial bedding plants.
Do lupins spread?
Species lupins (such as tree lupins) can self-seed, so remove spent flowerheads to prevent this. In the wild, lupins in their non-native environment can spread (for instance, Lupinus nootkatensis now grows wild beside Scottish rivers and L. arboreus on sand dunes), so deadheading ought to be done to prevent plants seeding into the countryside, if you live near it.
Safety
Lupins are poisonous, so wear gloves when handling them, and avoid growing them if you have a puppy that chews everything.
Lupin pests
In some parts of the country, lupins can be challenging to grow as a result of lupin aphid (Macrosiphum albifrons), which arrived from North America in the 1980s. It is a silver-green aphid that can multiply into colonies on stems and leaves, coating the plant in a sticky substance and causing it to wilt. As a result of an outbreak of lupin aphid, the RHS's recent AGM plant trial of lupins had to be abandoned early. In spring, regularly check the undersides of leaves and stalks for aphids and crush them by hand; because lupins are poisonous, wear gloves to do this. Introduce natural predators (such as ladybirds) or lure them (for instance, with marigolds). In California, Mark Macdonald of West Coast Seeds experienced an infestation of the abundant lupin planting around his farmhouse, followed by a dramatically reduced presence a year later, leading him to assert that nature often balances itself out – so, should your lupins be badly affected one year, they may thrive in subsequent summers.
Protect young plants from slugs and snails (for example, with nematodes), especially in spring when young, fresh growth is emerging.
