{"product_id":"west-country-red-rum-lupin","title":"West Country Red Rum Lupin","description":"\u003cul class=\"pdp-specs\"\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eVariety:\u003c\/strong\u003e Red Rum\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLatin name:\u003c\/strong\u003e Lupinus polyphyllus 'Red Rum'\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eType:\u003c\/strong\u003e Hardy herbaceous perennial\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFlower:\u003c\/strong\u003e Clear red with a fleck of white\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHeight:\u003c\/strong\u003e 75–90cm\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSpread:\u003c\/strong\u003e 65–75cm\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFlowering:\u003c\/strong\u003e Late May to August (with deadheading)\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eScent:\u003c\/strong\u003e Lightly fragrant\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHardiness:\u003c\/strong\u003e Fully hardy (H5)\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSeries:\u003c\/strong\u003e Westcountry. Bred in Devon. PBR protected\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSold as:\u003c\/strong\u003e P9 and 2-litre pot-grown plants, grown on by us\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePlant outdoors:\u003c\/strong\u003e Spring or autumn\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDelivered:\u003c\/strong\u003e Spring and autumn. \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/collect-from-castle-cary\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eCollection from Castle Cary\u003c\/a\u003e also available\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003c!-- IMAGE: red-rum-lupin-flower.jpg — alt=\"Lupinus Red Rum Westcountry series clear red flower spike\" --\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eWest Country Red Rum Lupin – Clear Red Spires\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRed Rum is the red lupin done properly. Not salmon-pink-pretending-to-be-red, not brick-red-fading-to-muddy-orange, but a clear, honest, pillar-box red with just a fleck of white at the keel of each flower to stop it looking flat. It's one of the strongest colours in the Westcountry series and one of the earliest to flower, typically opening in late May when the border still has spring bulb gaps to fill.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe spikes reach 75–90cm on thick, self-supporting stems that don't need staking. The Westcountry series was bred specifically for garden performance: compact habit, strong stems, colours that hold rather than fade — and Red Rum shows that breeding at its best. Plant a group of three and you have a red exclamation mark in the border that's visible from the end of the garden.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eFrom Devon, via Tissue Culture\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Westcountry lupins were bred by Sarah Conibear at Donkey Meadow in North Devon. She started selecting lupins in 1996, inspired by a Channel 4 programme, and built up what is now the only National Collection of Lupins in the UK. The nursery has won four gold medals at Chelsea for their lupin displays. Red Rum was among the early releases in the range and remains one of the most popular. A clear single colour is harder to breed than a bicolour, and the clean red was a genuine achievement. All Westcountry lupins are tissue-cultured: each plant is a genetic clone of the original, which means you get exactly the colour you ordered rather than the seedling lottery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003ePlanting Partners\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRed and purple is a classic combination. Plant Red Rum with \u003ca href=\"\/products\/masterpiece-lupin\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eMasterpiece\u003c\/a\u003e (deep wine-purple) and \u003ca href=\"\/products\/manhattan-lights-lupin\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eManhattan Lights\u003c\/a\u003e (purple and yellow) for a three-colour lupin display that flowers in succession from late May. For something beyond lupins, the red spikes pair well with the blue globes of \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/ornamental-onion-allium-bulbs\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ealliums\u003c\/a\u003e in early summer. Later in the season, \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/dahlia-tubers\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003edahlias\u003c\/a\u003e — particularly warm oranges and dark reds — pick up the colour theme from July onwards, giving you a red thread running from spring bulbs through lupins to autumn dahlias.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eWhy Ashridge for Lupins?\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWe buy Red Rum as licensed young plants and grow them on in Castle Cary, in peat-free compost with biological controls. By the time they reach you, they're established plants in P9 or 2-litre pots, not plugs that need weeks of cosseting. We guarantee every plant and the team that grows them is the team that helps if anything goes wrong. Browse our full \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/perennial-plants\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eperennial range\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eFrequently Asked Questions\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eDo lupins fix nitrogen?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYes. Like all legumes, lupins form a symbiosis with soil bacteria that fix atmospheric nitrogen into a form the plant can use. This means they thrive in poor soil and actually improve it for neighbouring plants. Don't add nitrogen-rich fertiliser — it's counterproductive and pushes the plant into leaf growth at the expense of flowers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eAre Westcountry lupins hardy?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVery. They're rated H5, meaning they'll survive temperatures down to -15°C. The top growth dies back completely in winter and fresh shoots emerge from the crown each spring. The only real threat is waterlogged soil through winter, which can rot the crown. Good drainage matters more than temperature.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eCan I use lupins as cut flowers?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou can, though they don't last as long in a vase as dahlias or sweet peas — expect three to five days. Cut when the lower flowers on the spike are open but the top is still in bud. Stand the stems in water immediately and keep the vase topped up, as lupins are thirsty. The scent is subtle but pleasant, and a handful of lupin spikes in a tall jug makes a real statement.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWhen should I plant lupins?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSpring (March to May) or autumn (September to October). Spring planting gives them a full growing season to establish before winter. Autumn planting works well in milder areas and gives the roots a head start, but protect new plants from slugs over winter. Avoid planting in summer heat or mid-winter waterlogging.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat is the difference between Westcountry lupins and Russell lupins?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRussell hybrids were the breakthrough in lupin breeding — George Russell spent 25 years crossing them from the 1910s onwards and they transformed the range of colours available. But Russell lupins are seed-raised, so each plant is genetically different and colours are variable. The Westcountry series, developed from the 1990s by Sarah Conibear, are tissue-cultured clones: every plant in a named variety is identical. The Westcountry varieties also tend to have sturdier stems and more compact habit than seed-raised Russells.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Ashridge","offers":[{"title":"Potted \/ 2 Litre","offer_id":56189797564742,"sku":"PERELUPREDRUM-2L","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0947\/0351\/8022\/files\/red-rum-single-lupin-flower.webp?v=1773665649","url":"https:\/\/www.ashridgetrees.co.uk\/products\/west-country-red-rum-lupin","provider":"Ashridge Nurseries","version":"1.0","type":"link"}