Has anyone here had any success germinating Grape Soda Lupine and Arroy Lupine?? I’ve scarified them with sandpaper and also soak them in hot water overnight but still nothing. I tried back in October when it rained but nothing has shown up and again with the rain we had last month. And this one time, after scarifying and soaking, I cold stratified them but only one Arroyo Lupine seed grew a root, but while handling it to sow it outside, I kinda broke the root off💀💀. But that’s about the only success I’ve had.
I have been so discouraged by how hard it is to grow arroyo lupine and gave up and threw the rest of my seeds in a poorly drained, compacted clay soil side planter without doing anything. A neighborhood cat dug around and pooped all over them. Then I had roofers in that threw a bunch of debris on top of them.
They are now sprouting like crazy. They’re so contrary. Consider amending your soil with spite, cat poop and roofing debris? Makes no sense
i just threw arroyo lupine seeds out into the yard and now they make a big mess every year
Same here. chick lupine and miniature lupine also
I was going to say––I threw a bunch of seeds into an empty lot behind my house and for now the arroyo are the only ones sprouting! It seems like they thrive on neglect ahah
I scattered a packet of ca native perennials a few years ago and the lu[ine and poppy are the ones that reliably come back every year. Maybe don't do so much? Throw the seeds out, water them a bit, and let them grow.
This year was my first time trying arroyo lupine. I had mild success with scarification (much easier with a nail clipper) + hot water soak (they swell to twice their size and change color which I thought was cool) and direct sowing, but I had better germination by tossing the scarified & soaked seeds in a wet paper towel in the fridge for a couple of days. It seems like you’ve been doing both so I don’t have any advice, I’m sorry.
I’ve also broke the stems and roots before… The little seedlings are deceptively brittle.
Yea on my second try, I used a nail clipper too, but I think i was taking too much off the seed. I believe I took more than the seed coat off. I soaked them after and they also swelled up, but nothing yet😭
I'm curious how old your seeds are. I've had very fast (2-7 days) germination on fresh seeds (1-3 months old) and much slower (1-3 weeks), more sporadic germination on seeds that were over 1 yearn old. Germination was still over 90% on the old seeds, but they only worked with scarification and a much longer period in the fridge was required.
If they swelled up, your scarification worked. Just leave them in a damp baggie in the fridge until the tap root pokes out.
https://preview.redd.it/gz7hkoc2r67g1.png?width=2404&format=png&auto=webp&s=3235eeab4e4b9058183b9110d0a39b33fae0e99b
I bought the grape lupine seeds from theodore payne on September 19th and the arroyo lupine from Walqaqsh on the same day. And yeah i’ll just try again to germinate them thank you
I just pour 160 degree water on some seeds in a cup, let it sit and soak for a few hours, and plant them out about 1/8-1/4 inch into soil. I usually get about 95% germination.
I’ve had decent success germinating mine this year. I used a nail file to scarify the seed coat until the cotyledon was just barely exposed. Next I put them on a damp paper towel in a sealed food container and put them in the fridge. Finally, I would bring them out of the fridge each morning when I left for work, and put them back in at night before bed.
They swell pretty dramatically when they start absorbing water, so I could tell any that did not swell needed some more nail file action on the seed coat. I didn’t track it, but I probably got 80% germination rate.
Once germinated I put them in red solo cups (I punched drainage holes) with a mixture of potting soil and the soil from my yard. They’re about 2-3” tall currently but I have not put them in the ground yet.
One issue Ive had in the past with various lupine is that as soon as they sprout, they are ravaged by slugs and roly-polys. Hence why I am starting them in cups this year…
Yup grape soda lupine, I had treated them overnight with water starting temp 200F. They however sprout sporadically on a whim. So I will sow them in wide seed trays so you can up pot them as they sprout and grow. Be prepared to wait a long time if you want to see most of them sprout.