Sick lupins!

[moggssue]

Hi all, I have a question which has nothing to do with veg, but hope someone can help anyway! I have had lupins in my flower bed for the past two years with no problems. When I went to feed them yesterday evening (all in full flower already) I noticed the leaves are covered in white 'mould'. Does anyone have any idea what might be causing this and what I can do about it? Also, I had planned on putting a few summer cabbage plants and/or a later sowing of lettuce in front of the lupins instead of summer bedding but now I'm not sure, don't want them to catch anything from the lupins?!

[Alice]

It sounds as if your lupins have powdery mildew, probably caused by the very dry weather we had earlier on. You can buy a spray for it if you want to go down that route. I don't think it would affect the vegetables you want to grow there.

[Flummery]

Lupins are really not a long lived perennial. I always plan to replace them every couple of years - unless you are very lucky. They are also martyrs to a huge blue lupin aphid - check for those too if the plant is ailing. They are horrible to squish, but squish I do!

[TPeers]

Is that what got my plants last year? They came up fine, I managed to keep the slugs and snails off and then just as they came into bud the flower stems got all distorted and the flowers came to nothing. I assumed it was the dry spring we had had, but I do remember some particularly large aphids, sort of steely blue/green - almost a grey colour.

I'll keep a close eye on the plants this year and hope they do better.

[moggssue]

Thanks all. The plants themselves are fine, flowering away to their hearts content, its the leaves which are covered in powdery white stuff. This is their third year and they do get fed a couple of times a season. So if its powdery mildew, should I just leave it to sort itself out? Can I plant new lupins in the same place next year? Sorry to take up space with a non veggi question but I do love my lupins too!

[Waffler]

I thought that was what 'the flower mill' was for: non veggie threads.
I'm a bit disappointed to hear I might have to replace them every couple of years; I've bought 4 or 5 plants this year which I figure won't amount to much being their first year, but did have visions of a proper cottage garden look a few years down the line. How do I achieve this then? Simply by planting lots of lupins?

[moggssue]

Sorry, I posted on the general chitchat thread, I'll remember next time! I only have five plants but they're monsters! And they self seeded themselves this year as well. I was planning to leave the babies undisturbed for now and try to pot them up in the autumn so I have more plants next year - but maybe I need to replace the current plants.

[Alice]

You can plant your lupins in the same place next year Moggsue. The powdery mildew is more disfiguring than harmful. As I said, you can buy a spray for it if you want to try it.

Waffler, the lupins you bought should flower this year and last for several years. They are very easy from seed. If you planted some now in pots, they would be nice plants by the end of summer, ready to be planted out where you want them to flower next year.

[moggssue]

Thanks Alice! If the mildew isnt harmful I'm not going to spray - i'd really rather not spray anything I dont have to. The flowers all still look fine so I'll leave well alone and just enjoy their display!

[Palustris]

About the only thing to add, is not to put any of the mildewed leaves/stems on the compost heap, but burn or whatever.
The giant aphids are American lupin aphids and they will destroy a plant in days. We have had to give up on lupins, they were wiped by these pests.

[Waffler]

Thanks for that Alice! Do you mean to sow seeds now in pots? It never occurred to me to grow them from seed.

[Alice]

Yes Waffler, Lupins are very easy from seed. If you plant them in a seed tray now they will be up in no time, then prick them out into 4" pots and let them grow till they fill the pots, then plant them out where you want them to grow.
Alternatively , if you have a seed bed, plant the seeds directly in the ground and once they have real lupin leaves lift and plant where you want them to grow. Don't leave them too long as they make very big roots.
When you go to look for seeds you'll find they come in many varieties. I liked the colour combinations in Band of Nobles, but they're all lovely. You can get them in single colours too. Good luck with the Lupins.