El lupine, better known scientifically as Lupinus, is a genus of herbaceous, perennial plants whose nutritional properties make it become food for both animals and humans.
Its growth is fast, and it does not take long to bloom after germination, thus being able to decorate the garden with its precious flowers after a few months.
There are numerous species of lupine, however, they all have their leaves in common, which are pale green webbed. They can grow to a height of two meters; and its flowers, by presenting such a diversity of colors, offer you a wide range of possibilities to decorate, being able to choose the plants that you like the most.
In gardening it is used both for garden, and for flowerpot. You can plant several whose flowers are of different colors, and thus create a spectacular flowerbed.
The lupine is native to the warm and / or subtropical grasslands of the Earth. They have the peculiarity that they are excellent plants that fix nitrogen to the soil, which makes them excellent as natural fertilizers. So now you know, if your garden is lacking nitrogen, don't hesitate to buy some little lupine plants!
As a food use it is used mainly in countries such as Spain, Italy, Argentina or Venezuela. The seed is very nutritious, but if ingested in excess, it can cause chronic poisoning.
In cultivation it does not present major problems. If we want to have lupines and watch them grow, we can easily acquire seeds in specialized stores or nurseries. To achieve a higher germination percentage, we will put them in a glass with water for 24 hours, and later we will sow them in a seedbed outside. They germinate without problems with a temperature between 15 and 20º. We must not forget to apply the fungicide -if it could be, ecological as for example sulfur-, since the fungi could destroy the seeds and the plants in a matter of days. When they are about 10cm tall, we can transfer them to individual pots, or we can leave them together and transplant them to a larger pot.
The lupine is a plant that will give us great satisfaction. Easy to care for, with a high ornamental value, whose seeds are edible ... what more could you ask for?
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