Noble Maiden Lupin Plants

Lupin Noble Maiden

Combining elegance and lofty architectural interest, Noble Maiden's creamy-white spires of flower bring a statuesque beauty to any planting scheme. The airy pea-like flowers add a lightness to borders, especially in more shady areas. Plant in swathes through a woodland garden, alongside deciduous trees like the white stemmed Himalayan birch and amongst shade-loving perennials.

Browse our other lupin varieties or all our perennial plants.

Great in your Garden

With her creamy-white tones, Noble Maiden makes a good foil for more vibrant lupins such as the deep carmine flowers of The Page and also combines well with other cottage garden favourites like geraniums, aquilegia and astrantia. If your garden style suits a more contemporary monotone planting scheme, try pairing Noble Maiden with white foxgloves at the back of the border to create a sophisticated early summer display.

To prolong flowering, deadheading faded blooms to encourage a fresh flush of blooms in early autumn. It is best to remove any untidy foliage throughout the summer too.

Features

• Colour: Graceful creamy-white spires of pea-like flowers
• Flowering: June - July
• Foliage: Mounds of mid-green foliage
• Cutting: Yes
• Attractive to Pollinators: Yes
• Height: 90cm
• Spread: 75cm
• Position: Full sun or partial shade
• Soil: Light and sandy, moist but well-drained, acid to neutral soil

Lovely Legumes

Lupins are members of the Fabaceae family, which explains why lupin flowers resemble those of peas and beans. Many species from this family originate from North and South America, and the lupins are no exception, with many species - both perennial and annual - native to this region of the world. The elegant blooms display the characteristics of pea flowers with an upper standard petal, two lateral wing petals and the two lower petals fused into a keel. In some varieties, the wing and standard are different colours, producing bicolored flowers.

Noble Maiden lupins should be planted in a sunny or semi-shaded spot, preferably in moist but well-drained soil as lupins dislike anything that stays wet in winter. Water regularly and protect the young plants from slug and snail damage until well established.

Feed with a general-purpose fertiliser in spring. Keep well-watered during dry periods to avoid mildew. Check regularly for slug and snail damage, and for aphid problems. Rub off aphids by hand or spray off with a jet of water. Remove any badly affected flower stems as soon as you can.

Remove faded flower stems as soon as they fade to encourage a new flush of flowers in early autumn. Stake plants in spring, erecting supports before the flower spikes appear. Propagation works best from seed or from basal cuttings.