White lupine is not only a decoration of the site, but also an excellent green manure that improves the soil, as well as an excellent forage crop. White lupine is called Lupinus albus in Latin. This is a herbaceous plant from the legume family, from the genus Lupine. His homeland is the Mediterranean. It is an annual growing up to 1 m. The stem is straight, pubescent. The leaves are pubescent, five-leafed, divided. The flowers are white, collected in thin straight inflorescences. It clearly demonstrates what lupine looks like, photo.
Characteristics of white lupine
White lupine is a unique plant. This and:
- A very beautiful flower, which is decorative in spring, thanks to its delicate leaves, and then, until October, it pleases the eyes with its beautiful white flowers, located vertically on the stem.
- White lupine is an excellent food for animals. Its cultivation is very profitable, since the costs are lower than when growing soybeans, and the yield is 2 times higher!
- The plant is simply the salvation of poor soils. Its root stem is so powerful that it can penetrate to a depth of 2–2.5 meters and extract nutrients and microelements from there.
Lupine enriches the soil with phosphorus, potassium, taking these elements from deep soil layers. He produces nitrogen in the literal sense of the word out of thin air. After the site was sown with white lupine, it was harvested at the end of summer, special devices showed that after itself on 1 hectare of territory, it left 200 kg of nitrogen!
It is capable of enriching the same territory with 250 kg of potassium and up to 100 kg of phosphorus. Of course, after the lupine, other crops will grow well here.
To make the effect even greater, lupine is cut in the budding and flowering phase, before the formation of seeds, and embedded in the soil. This area needs to be periodically moistened to speed up the decomposition process. When the green mass is overcooked, this area will be ideal for growing vegetables or other crops. Therefore, lupine is used as a green manure, that is, a soil improver. And he not only nourishes her, but also loosens the earth with his powerful roots. Thanks to this, it becomes air and moisture permeable. It makes the elements, which are difficult to assimilate for other plants, easily assimilated.
Lupine, including white, is one of the best green manures for improving light, slightly acidic soils. In addition, it heals the soil, attracts worms to this area, since at the same time it serves as food for them. This helps to reduce morbidity and increase yields.
White lupine is an irreplaceable forage crop in animal husbandry. It surpasses all legumes in the content of high-quality protein, easily digestible by animals. Its grain contains a lot of fat, and its green mass contains macro- and microelements. On acidic soils, it is one of the most productive forage crops. Some types of lupine have a drawback - the presence of a large amount of toxic alkaloids that impair the taste of the feed. These substances are also present in white lupine, but in the smallest quantities. Therefore, it is recommended to use it and yellow lupine for feeding livestock.
Growing lupine
When growing it as a country flower, white lupine can be pre-planted on seedlings or directly into the ground. With the first method, the grower will get an earlier flowering. To do this, even in mid - late March, it is necessary to sow seeds in boxes or bags from juices, dairy products.
The soil mixture is common for flower crops. This is 2 parts of sod land, peat and one part of sand.
To speed up the germination of seeds, they should be mixed with nodules taken from the roots of old plants, ground into powder, which will provoke the development of nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Usually, seedlings appear after a different number of days (8–17). If you want them to be friendly, let the seeds hatch and germinate by placing them in a damp gauze and placing them in a warm place. And only then sow in prepared containers.
Almost a month after the emergence of seedlings, a fifth or sixth leaf is formed on them, then they can be planted in open ground in a flower garden. At the same time, maintain a distance between seedlings of 30-50 cm. Lupine is resistant to spring frosts. Therefore, seedlings can be planted in the spring, as soon as the snow melts, in a place previously prepared in the fall.
It is possible to grow white lupine from seeds by directly sowing it into the ground in spring - at the end of April - in May or in autumn - from late October to early November. If you want to grow it as an ornamental crop, then plant the seeds 5 cm apart. If you plan to use it as a green manure, then plant seeds more often - after 5-15 cm, with a distance in a row of 20-30 cm. Seal them to a depth of 2 cm. At the same time, seeds are consumed per 1 hundred square meters of yellow lupine - 1, 5-2 kg, and more white lupine is taken - up to 2, 5–3 kg. They are sprinkled with soil on top, and with a podzimny sowing - also with a small layer of peat.
If you are growing lupine as a siderat, then cut it at the budding stage, about 2 months after sowing. If it is decorative, then the faded parts of the plant will need to be removed so that it looks beautiful and does not allow the seeds to ripen, if you do not plan to then propagate the lupine with them.
Reproduction of lupine vegetative and cuttings
White lupine is an annual, but it is interesting to know how its perennial counterparts reproduce. Indeed, with seed reproduction, it is not always possible to get a plant of the same color as the mother plant. If you want to see flowers of just such shades, then it is advisable to propagate lupine vegetatively. For this, 3-4-year-old bushes are suitable, on which side rosettes have formed. In summer, they need to be carefully separated from the main plant and transplanted to another place.
When propagating by cuttings in the spring, it is necessary to cut off the stem formed from the root rosette, and in the summer - a lateral shoot that has grown in the leaf axils and planted in a shaded place in the sandy ground. After almost a month, the cuttings will have roots, then it is planted in a permanent place. Already this year there may be flowering.
Pests of white lupine
White lupine can be affected by aphids, it appears during the period when the buds are laid and can glue them with its sweet sticky mass and prevent them from blooming. Then they dry up and die. If lupine is planted late, it can be damaged by the larvae of root weevils, sprout flies. Insecticides that are diluted in water and sprayed with flowers will get rid of these harmful insects.
Optimal sowing times, timely soil treatment, correct crop rotation will help reduce the likelihood of pests and diseases affecting white lupine.
For more information on white lupine, see this video:
