Can i grow Lupins in a clay soil if i put in lots of manure? I have a 1m wide border going all the way round my allotment and want to plant some there for the bees etc. I currently have verbena bonariensis and maximillion sunflowers in the border.
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Lupins in clay soil
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Why do you think lupins won't grow in clay soil? If verbena will then I'm sure lupins will. If you feed it lots, you will get lots of soft sappy growth, which those enormous aphids that lupins seem to get will love you for. I grew lupins at my Dad's house which was on the site of a former brick makers yard. That was clay soil.
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Taken from a website claiming to specialise in lupins:
"Soil
The latin name for lupin, Lupinus, is derived from lupus meaning wolf or destroyer. Because lupins will grow in poor soil they have also attracted the misleading idea that they can destroy the fertility of the soil. This is not true; lupins make their own nitrogen enabling them to grow in poorer soils but not chalk. Ideally a well drained, neutral to slightly acidic soil will ensure 100% success but most soils will be fine. "
I'd add the manure and maybe a little sand or grit to your clay (I have a clay garden which has been improved this way and grows lupins)
Another thing to grow if you are keen on attracting bees is borage. I had some last year and can honestly say I've never seen so many honeybees in my life outside of a hive!
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