A beloved flower in Maine is controversial because it's not native to the state.
MAINE, USA — Maine residents and tourists alike love the lupines that can be found in the fields and on the side of roads across the state. When the flowers are in full bloom, photographers go wild, but the beloved flower has also sparked controversy because it's not native to the state.
“So these lupines started popping up in abundance in the state around 1950,” revealed Emily Baisden, seed program director for the Wild Seed Project. “In the Miss Rumphius story that many of us read as kids, there was actually someone who planted lupine seeds around the mid-coast of Maine. She really loved the plant, and from there, lupines started spreading along the roadside and they spread very quickly.”
Behind the beauty lies an ugly truth.
“We know that this plant competes to some extent with some of our native species, for example milkweed and some of our important native plants for pollinators, and it competes with the monarch butterfly, which requires milkweed and is now under threat,” Baisden explained.
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Lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus) is likely to continue to be present, but controlling the plant is an option.
“The management plan for this field is to mow it after it flowers so it doesn't go to seed. If it continues to flower, late-growing plants like goldenrod can't grow,” the seed program director explained while being interviewed by Gardening with Gatner in the middle of a field of lupines.
Baisden said the native lupine (Lupinus perennis) is believed to have migrated out of the state or become locally extinct. The state reports the rare plant has only been recorded to be found in three counties: Aroostook, Knox and Oxford. Baisden took “Gardening with Gutner” to a private garden where the native plants thrive.
“You can see a lot of differences in this plant right away. It's much shorter. The flower stalks and racemes are much smaller and it's a much lighter blue overall. There's some variation; it's very different to the lupines we've seen before, large-leaved lupines tend to have much smaller leaves and, if you count the leaflets, much fewer,” Baisden demonstrated.
While invasive lupines are displacing other native plants, they are not displacing our native lupines. This is due to land loss.
“The big driver is habitat loss and habitat loss due to fire suppression. A lot of our natural habitats were once subject to fire,” Baisden revealed.
“Forest fires, brush fires,” interjected Todd Gatner, host of “Gardening with Gatner.”
“Exactly, exactly. That's what's maintained the blueberry barrens, the sandy soils, the dry, gravelly soils that are well-drained which these plants need. And when you lose that management you lose all the plants that need it,” Baisden said.
And the loss of plants has a negative impact on biodiversity.
“The Karner Blue butterfly is an endangered butterfly species whose caterpillars can only eat lupine leaves and no other leaves,” Mr Baisden explained.
If you want to grow native lupines in your garden, you can buy seeds from the Wild Seed Project. If they're sold out, you can sign up to be notified when they're back in stock. If you don't get your seeds from the Wild Seed Project, Baisden recommends buying from a reputable grower, such as the Native Plant Trust, who can provide non-hybrid and native species seeds.
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Lupines are sold in all greenhouses to gardeners looking to add showy flowers to their gardens. These lupines have been specially bred for the consumer.
“They come in a variety of colors: white, pink, yellow, blue. Two colors. A lot of these are the result of a huge amount of selective breeding,” said Tom Estabrooks of Estabrooks Greenhouse in Yarmouth.
The greenhouse owner offered some suggestions on caring for the newly planted lupines in the garden.
“We kill them gently,” Estabrook joked. “We treat them really well. We enrich the soil. We make them happy. Lupines are nitrogen fixing plants, which means they add nitrogen to the soil.”
“So you don't need to fertilize a lot, just a little bit of compost,” he recommended. “You need to give them enough nutrients so they can grow well in the first year. Make sure you keep them moist.”
Greenhouse owners also suggest planting annuals near lupines because they will get moisture from watering the annuals even when the lupines go dormant.
Growing the plants from seed requires stratification, or a period of freezing long enough to cause the outside of the pod to crack, Estabrook said.
Lupines are hugely popular with Mainers, and they're likely to continue to be so. By planting native lupines in your garden and cutting back invasive species before they bear fruit, these steps may ease your conscience about your love for these eye-catching flowers.
