Description
For a small annual lupine, bicolor lupine packs a mighty punch. En masse, bicolor lupine explodes with vibrant blue to purple color, putting on a lively display. As the name suggests the flowers often have two colors: white and blue/purple. Bicolor lupine flowers in spring and is highly attractive to native bees and other insects. It is a larval host plant for some butterflies. Bicolor lupine is often found growing in disturbed areas such as roadsides, compacted ground, and erosive areas near human communities. In the wild it prefers dry meadows, grasslands, and open upland prairies. It is nitrogen fixing, pulling nitrogen from the air into the soil through nitrogen-fixing root nodules. Bicolor lupine is in the legume (Fabaceae) family. Like other lupines, bicolor lupine has palmate leaves. It can grow from .5″-1.5′ tall, and prefers full sun and dry soil conditions. Deer resistant.
Lupinus bicolor seed packets contain 1/4 teaspoon of seed.
Seed Germination Instructions
Generally no pretreatment is needed, but germination may be improved and more uniform with a hot (not boiling) water soak prior to sowing. Sow outside in fall to early spring.
