Wild Flower ID help!

11 years ago

I live in Wisconsin about an hour north of Madison and there are these wild flowers that grow in the ditches of many of the roads around here. I don't remember them anywhere else that I have lived but they are very pretty and definitely dress up the roadsides in May around here. Sometimes they cover large areas in a swath of color. Can someone ID these flowers and would it be feasible to cultivate them for growing in a garden. If so how would one go about doing so. Or is there a way to get them to grow in a desired area?

Here is a photo:

{{gwi:1058867}}

Bruce

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Comments (9)

GKJDallas
11 years ago
Hello,

Down here in Texas, our variety is called the Texas Bluebonnet: up North, I'm sure it is a different variety of:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupinus

Graham

Here is a link that might be useful: Lupinus
Lynda Waldrep
11 years ago
Yes, I also think they are Lupines, which grow well in a garden provided it is not too hot and dry. I have seen them in the mt. area here in NC.
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esox07 (4b) Wisconsin
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you. I do beleive this is a variety of Lupines. It could be close to the one in the link from GKJDallas as that photo was from Maine which has similar climate to Wisconsin.

I am going to harvest some seeds this summer from a patch near my house and then I will try to grow them out for my garden next spring.

Thanks for the help.
Bruce
esox07 (4b) Wisconsin
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks again for the information. There are tons of Lupines growing in the roadside ditches all around my area right now. There is a small patch near my house. i was hoping to figure out how to propagate them and found that seed is the way to go. I understand they eventually produce pods with seeds in them, then they dry out and eventually pop open releasing the seeds. But can someone tell me about when I can expect the seed pods to form, then dry and then pop open? The ones in my area are wild and in full bloom now around the middle of May as evidenced in the photo above. When should I look to harvest the seeds?
GKJDallas
11 years ago
Hello,

Down here in Texas, our variety is called the Texas Bluebonnet: up North, I'm sure it is a different variety of:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupinus

Graham

Here is a link that might be useful: Lupinus
esox07 (4b) Wisconsin
Original Author
11 years ago
Yep, I have found out there are a type of Lupine and related to the Blue Bonnet. My wife is from San Antonio and I lived there for 5 years. The fields full of BLue Bonnets were beautiful every spring....some springs better than others. Now I need to find out how to harvest seeds from the local plants here so I can start my own patch in my yard. If someone knows when they should be putting out seeds that are ready for harvesting, let me know.
Bruce
lazy_gardens
11 years ago
esox .... pick a convenient cluster and keep an eye on them.

Some species will have ripe seeds on the bottom while the top is still blooming, but a week or two after the last blooms is a good time to check. Take a 5-gallon bucket with you.

When you see that the stalks have tan or yellowish dry-feeling bean-like pods on them, Test the bottom pods - snip one off and see if it pops open easily, and has dry seeds inside. If so, snip the entire bloom stalk and put it cut site UP in the bucket. Collect several stalks. Don't harvest more than 1 in 10 stalks - these are annuals

Leave them in the bucket until the pods are all dry and splitting ... the seeds will be spit out, but land in the bucket.

Late this summer, rake the dirt where you want them to grow, scatter the seeds and rake them in. They will probably sprout and grow just fine.
terrestrial_man
11 years ago
The species is Lupinus perennis. There is only one other species in the state, Lupinus polyphyllus.

The image is from this site: http://www.guenther-blaich.de/pflseite.php?par=Lupinus+polyphyllus
and was taken by Schwarzwald in the Black Forest, Freiburg, Germany on April 28, 2007 The site is in German.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lupinus perennis
esox07 (4b) Wisconsin
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks all for the help. I hope to get some seeds for next spring.
Bruce