I ordered seeds from Vermont wildflower farm and a few years later here is what grew. This photo is from last spring but they are coming up again just now and I'm 90% sure they are not the lupinus perennis I intended on planting. Counting the leaflets gives me 11+ on most of the large ones. I'm pretty bummed because these took off great in a pretty crappy location.
I'm in the process of converting my entire front hill into a native wildflower patch. So if anyone knows of a more reliable source of native seeds, I'm all ears. I'm in NH so I had hoped that a local place would be best. I've been reading a lot in the sub and it's seeming like many places aren't super trustworthy with native seeds.
by emberkellyart
13 Comments
The best place to buy l. perennis v. perennis seeds is Prairie Moon nursery, they specifically discuss this on their website page for this species. I recommend purchasing from them.
Interesting. I’d never heard of that supplier. Looking at their website, their address just points to a warehouse in an office park.
Looks like polyphyllus. Perennis would be shorter and with fewer leaflets
Sorry to hear that, but thanks for the heads up. Going to have to remove it so it doesn’t drop seeds this season. Check for seedlings coming up since it bloomed last year.
I looked it up because I was curious, most of the karner blues were reintroduced into restored habitat right outside of concord, but I guess they used to be all over the southern half of the state.
Too many leaflets, sorry. The one thing to be ultra-picky about is L. Perennis seeds and be cautious of anyone offering seed. Most of the seeds should be ivory coloured but can contain a few black/brown. The plants are also very picky about their type of soil, they will rot easily where L. polyphyllus is more adaptable.
This is the only source for good seed in Ontario. [https://www.wildflowerfarm.com/lupinus-perennis-wild-lupine.html?srsltid=AfmBOoqRKtEzelaLvbhHTRqd2fVxngjIN-koPQjSFWmEwPVi-uFHXxzH](https://www.wildflowerfarm.com/lupinus-perennis-wild-lupine.html?srsltid=AfmBOoqRKtEzelaLvbhHTRqd2fVxngjIN-koPQjSFWmEwPVi-uFHXxzH)
My sympathies. Early on, I happily planted starters of what I thought was the local, but were not.
I wonder if somehow these were cross pollinated. I say that because when I zoomed in, I do see a few not as tall leaflets in the 5-7 range, but it may be that they develop more as they grow in height? I never did try those again because of my first major foul up.
I did a general web search about cross pollination possibilities, and from the results, that *could* also be affecting them if someone has another variant/cultivar nearby. But I am not an expert by any means, so grain of salt on that point! (Edit: Just read another bit related to this, so sharing: [My Wild Lupines aren’t really wild](https://www.returnofthenative.ca/about/jaggyblog/my-wild-lupines-aren-t-really-wild).)
GoBotany also [has this to say](https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/lupinus/perennis/) about the flower sizes which might help you distinguish:
>Sometimes confused with [*Lupinus polyphyllus*](https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/lupinus/polyphyllus/): leaves with mostly 11-17 leaflets and flowers 15-20 mm long (vs. L. perennis, with leaves with mostly 5-7 leaflets and flowers 12-16 mm long).
Please contact them and let them know
Dang. That stinks. I went to thar company website and it had a photo that looks exactly like your plant labeled perennis, but it’s clearly not. I’d contact that company.
Found a video that explains the difference. https://youtu.be/6jfvtlFFW6Q?si=rUK1Dl-cPMQmSfm_
I did the same, grew lupine from seed only to learn it was invasive. It blocked out my milkweed. I am on year 3 of trying to eradicate it from my small butterfly garden. Thank you to those who recommended vendors.
And here I am in the native range of Lupinus polyphyllus and thought, “I wish this is what I got, but the seed companies out here apparently can’t tell the difference between this and Lupinus rivularis”.
These guys might have an idea of where to get clean native lupinus perennis seeds. They sell plants. They’re based in MA. [https://www.nativeplanttrust.org/](https://www.nativeplanttrust.org/)
Another source might be Blue Stem Natives, also in MA.
Ernst Seeds in PA.
Wild Seed Project in ME.
Toadshade Wildflower Farm in NJ.
There is more info from this website on smaller nurseries. At least one of them is in NH. [https://grownativemass.org/](https://grownativemass.org/)
Farther out would possibly be OPN in Ohio and Michigan Wildflower Farm. They’re in West Michigan. For seed sources.
Oh, these guys might be a source, too. [https://pollinatorpathwaysnh.org/?fbclid=IwY2xjawRklQNleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFobFBvcXdDMGhqTkZwb1VJc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHjUySYs5pSYxqjdjXGVb1kx-oii-m7pOz6_SpXFL-BwCvfJNISVzs11bDx9V_aem_4umC5WwOKhvR8MoNh2r6qQ](https://pollinatorpathwaysnh.org/?fbclid=IwY2xjawRklQNleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFobFBvcXdDMGhqTkZwb1VJc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHjUySYs5pSYxqjdjXGVb1kx-oii-m7pOz6_SpXFL-BwCvfJNISVzs11bDx9V_aem_4umC5WwOKhvR8MoNh2r6qQ)
Good luck. It really burns me up to see so much L. polyphyllus sold as native to Eastern North America.
Hey it’s me! I got suckered a few years ago like this too!
The good news is, i think something about the nitrogen fixing lupines do suddenly made my yard really grow stuff. Before the unfortunate lupines, i basically couldn’t get anything at all to grow. Basically only the worst of worst invasives would survive no matter what i did.
But now more and more species are having a great time with increasing neglect!
I’m still clearing out where they self seeded that first year, but they’re pretty easy to catch before they go to seed. I think i’ll catch the last of them this year.
As far as mistakes go, this one turns out to have been of the more fortuitous variety for me.
Ohhh cool this is what’s growing suddenly everywhere along the highway! I was afraid it was an invasive.