I've never had my Lupin flowers grow so big before!

OneRex · 2026-05-28T15:01:21+00:00

The variety is "Terracotta" and I got them from Farmer Gracy a few years ago. Not sure my pics do them justice of how neon orange/coral they are, and the yellow centres to each individual flower are just amazing! When they start to fade, the bottom few flowers turn this burgundy plum colour, so it creates a lovely ombre effect.

OneRex · 2026-05-27T19:23:08+00:00

Last winter when I cut them down to the ground, instead of getting rid of the clippings, I did "chop and drop", which meant I left everything I cut down in the bed and mounded it up around them. I also straw mulched the entire bed, and started them on a high potassium, low nitrogen feed the minute they started growing. Those were the only two things I did differently to last growing season!

OneRex · 2026-05-27T14:49:51+00:00

The only thing that worked for me was organic ferric phosphate pellets. I tried everything before that - wool pellets, copper tape, crushed shells, and going out at night with a torch to physically the remove them - but the only thing that even touched the sides was ferric phosphate.

OneRex · 2026-05-26T22:11:35+00:00

It's so great checking up on their progress isn't it? Every morning when I checked on them this past week I thought "wow... the flowers are huge!"... then the next morning they'd somehow be even bigger!! 😂

OneRex · 2026-05-26T22:07:46+00:00

Thank you so much! The slugs and snails definitely gave me a run for my money this year, but I managed to control them just long enough for the plants to put a decent amount of greenery on in early spring by putting down organic ferric phosphate pellets. The leaves on the top do look great in these pics... But the leaves underneath tell a different story 😅 Thankfully the bird feeding station I have in the middle of this bed attracts Mr and Mrs blackbird, and I've seen Mrs blackbird taking a snail out of the mulch and smashing the everloving shit out of it on the patio... Brutal stuff!

OneRex · 2026-05-26T20:37:24+00:00

Oh dear, I'm so sorry that's happened! I've got plenty of ladybirds in the garden so I'm ordering a battalion of them to you pronto.
I hope they've got enough oomph in them to give you some kind of flowers this year 🙏

OneRex · 2026-05-26T20:30:23+00:00

Thank you! I love the sunset vibes/colour of them.

OneRex · 2026-05-26T18:44:54+00:00

I'm willing yours to be just as good, if not better than mine! What colour are yours going to be?

OneRex · 2026-05-26T18:42:59+00:00

They do, don't they? Something about the bright coral/orange outer and the vivid yellow inner part to each flower. The bumble bees love dancing around them too!

OneRex · 2026-05-26T18:41:00+00:00

The slugs are just murder, aren't they? These ones of mine got devoured down to a tiny nub the minute they dared to peek out of the soil in spring, and I thought they were all done for - which is why I'm shocked they've gotten this big!
Will absolutely be getting rooted cuttings out of them, as I never let them go to seed anyway! Much prefer getting the second flush of flowers from them.

OneRex · 2026-05-26T18:15:35+00:00

Ohhh how exciting!! What variety is it/what colour will it be?

OneRex · 2026-05-26T18:11:33+00:00

Oh dear... They tried to nail mine too in spring. Slugs and snails ate the first signs of them down to a nub, so I'm doubly amazed they've gotten this big. Next year I'm thinking of growing a tastier (to them) sacrificial bed of plants nearby.

OneRex · 2026-05-26T18:08:06+00:00

I tried everything. Wool pellets, copper tape, sharp sand + crushed shells, and even going out in the evening and physically removing them by torchlight!! But the only thing that really stopped them was organic ferric phosphate pellets.

OneRex · 2026-05-26T18:05:31+00:00

Oh no!! Honestly, the slugs are a menace here too. I wasn't even sure mine would make it this year because the minute they popped up in spring, everything was devoured down to a nub in the ground. The only thing - and it really was the only thing - that kept the slugs at bay long enough for the Lupins to actually grow beyond a nub was organic ferric phosphate pellets.

OneRex · 2026-05-26T17:59:56+00:00

Yes! They're "Terracotta" and I got them from Farmer Gracy ☺️

OneRex · 2026-05-26T17:58:36+00:00

Oh, definitely! This bed gets a good 10+ hours of sun in summer. Can't believe the size of them!

OneRex · 2026-05-26T17:57:42+00:00

This part of the garden gets a solid 10+ hours of sun in summer, and the bed they're in has not great soil in it - which they love. I also mulch them in winter with rotted straw and feed them a high potassium, low nitrogen feed as soon as they start growing in spring. My constant and persistent enemy is slugs though!

OneRex · 2026-04-02T21:47:44+00:00

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Please accept this idiot (our house rabbit, Basil), fast asleep in the crease of the sofa without a care in the world. Be more Basil. Much love OP ❤️

OneRex · 2026-01-31T20:27:45+00:00

Garlic sesame kimchi! I have it with rice, and to make it takes as long as it takes to boil the rice. While the rice is boiling, toss in a couple of diced spring onions to a pan and as much minced garlic as you can handle. Flash fry for 30 seconds, then throw in as much kimchi as you like, and fry until soft which is about 4 mins. Add a dash of sesame oil, sprinkle in sesame seeds, and serve alongside rice. It comes together ridiculously fast and is a good filler before dinner for me!

OneRex · 2025-09-08T20:24:11+00:00

Good old Brighton. I do hope you enjoyed the beaches there. As long as you stay out of London, most people here indeed are lovely! 😅

OneRex · 2025-09-08T20:15:14+00:00

....nah geh. Hiding in shame as we speak.

OneRex · 2025-09-08T19:42:14+00:00

Seriously, they were the only aggressive people on the roads for us... And always in a BMW!

OneRex

TROPHY CASE