We need to see a picture of it please. Lupines are outdoor, cool weather plants. I would put it back outside now. It might need more frequent watering than what you are giving it. I would give it at least 6 hours of full sun light if not more.

I grew a bunch of Lupines last year from seed. The variety I grew was Lupines Perennis so my experience is limited to that type. In my experience, and from what I read, they need periods of cold in order to germinate. They are great for winter sowing, which is the method I used. I don't know if its too late to do that in your zone as I'm not sure how long a period they need in freezing temperatures. Mine were out all winter. If its too late for that, you can nick the shells of the seeds prior to planting them. That will help mimick the natural process created by cold/warm temperatures. Its okay to grow them in planters, but once you place them in your garden they can be difficult to transplant as they have a long tap root. I moved some in the fall, small plants that had tap roots that were over 10" long. Good luck!

I grow lots of lupines by wintersowing. They are my favorite plant. However I am not so good about getting things out right away, so mine sit in there 2 liter bottles most times all summer. (I know I should be ashamed), I don't keep them in shade as they are full sun plants and I am a tough love plant girl. Stuff either survives by the bare minimum or it doesn't. I just water them as I do my true potted plants (once a week if at all). So anyway.. I don't know if there is something to the leaving them in pots thing for sure or not(I never heard that before) but since that is definately what ends up being done to mine, I would say it sure doesn't seem to hurt them any. I do always make sure to get them in the ground by early fall because we have some cold winters... And so far they have always come back up the next year like gang busters. I do not have any issues with them being short lived either. I have plants come up every year that are at least 6 years old (I bag and collect all the seed pods, so it's not likley they are reseeding themselves).

I am glad to see this discussion. My lupines get these aphids every year, and it makes me crazy. I spray with soapy water every day, they go "away" (or someplace else) and then they're right back. The lupine foliage, which can look very nice even after the blooms are spent, end up looking awful. I'm curious if cutting the foliage back severely to really get at the aphids and to deprive them of their under-leaf hiding places would damage the plant so that it wouldn't come back next year. Lots of plants don't mind being cut back after blooming, but I don't know about lupines.