Making Space for Native Lupines
- jsrhollis
- Jun 9
- 2 min read
By Julie Reiff
Lupines are iconic Maine flowers, but the plants most of us know are not native. Bigleaf lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus) is native to western North America, but, since introduced as a landscape plant in the 1950s, it has colonized disturbed roadsides across New England.
A few years ago someone made a comment to me that they heard Acadia National Park was removing lupines from the park. That seemed an extreme action, given how beloved the plant is, so I did a little digging.
What I discovered was a “Tale of Two Lupines.” The Bar Harbor Garden Club was trying to reintroduce the sundial lupine (L. perennis), which IS native to Maine but had been extirpated, in part by competition from its western cousin but also because of wildfire suppression and habitat loss from land development.
I also learned that the native sundial or wild blue lupine thrives in rocky, sandy soils in full sun. That sounded like the perfect fit for the East Field at Valentine Farm. Why not try the experiment here?
With the help of Mike and Barbara Murphy, we sowed seeds in containers in November of 2023. The Murphys overwintered most in their greenhouse, but I cold sowed a few in jugs outside. Last spring, I planted them out in the East Field. They struggled all summer but survived, despite the poor soils and challenging weather.
Naturalizing native lupines in that field won’t be easy, but if we succeed, in addition to their aesthetic appeal they might also attract new pollinators. Unlike the familiar western lupine, the native lupine is the sole larval host for the endangered Karmer Blue butterfly caterpillar (Plebejus samuelis) and feeds many other species of moths and butterflies, including the eastern tailed blue, gray hairstreak, and clouded sulphur. The flower supports our native mining, mason, and bumble bees as well.
Checking on the lupine plants a week ago, I found that a handful have finally bloomed! If you’re walking the loop, take a peek as you exit the pines and follow the trail briefly into the field. They are smaller and less showy than their western cousins but coexist readily with milkweed, which in turn attracts monarchs.
I’ll be watching their progress closely this summer. The Murphys have been nurturing a few more seedlings, so we might try to introduce a second patch. Our results are not quite yet on par with Barbara Cooney’s Miss Rumphius, but someday I hope we’ll have an attractive enough patch that some Karner Blues might flutter over from NH (where there is still a small population). That would be my field of dreams. What are you planting in your garden?
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