Candyland™ Mix Lupine - 72-Cell Plug Tray

Candyland™ Mix is a seed strain of tall, full-bodied lupines with extra-long flower spikes packed tightly with large florets. Expect a colorful assortment in each planting: solid reds, blues and purples alongside bicolors that pair those shades with white or yellow.

Plants reach about 30 to 42 inches and bloom in early summer, making them a strong vertical accent in cottage, prairie and mixed borders. The spikes are lightly fragrant and make excellent cut flowers, and bees, butterflies and hummingbirds all visit.

What it looks like

Tall, dense, tapering flower spikes 12 inches or more long are packed with pea-like florets set close together, in a mix of solid red, blue, purple and pink and bicolors that combine those colors with white or yellow standards. Each spike is fullest at the base and narrows to a pointed tip of closed buds. The foliage is palmate, with 9 to 12 narrow, dark green leaflets radiating like the spokes of a wheel on long stalks. Plants form a bushy base clump about 24 to 30 inches wide, with several stout stems rising to 30 to 42 inches. At peak bloom a planting shows many upright spikes in mixed colors standing above a mound of dark green whorled leaves.

Growing it with lavender

Lupines share lavender's love of sun and sharp drainage, and their early-summer spikes bloom just ahead of the first lavender flowers, handing the color off to the purple wands as they fade.

Care

Plant in full sun to light afternoon shade in average, well-drained soil that leans slightly acidic; lupines dislike heavy clay and standing water. Hardy in zones 4-8, they prefer cool nights and can fade in hot, humid summers. Cut spent spikes before they set seed to tidy the plant, and set plants where they can stay, since the long taproot resents being moved.

At a glance

• Botanical name: Lupinus
• Flower color: Mixed red, blue, purple and pink with white and yellow bicolors
• Foliage: Dark green
• Growth habit: Upright clump
• Mature size: 30–42 in tall × 24–30 in wide
• USDA hardiness zones: 4–8
• Light: full sun, part sun to part shade
• Bloom start: Early-June
• Peak bloom: Mid-June
• Bloom pattern: Single Flush
• Deer resistance: Moderately resistant
• Pollinator value: Great

Sizes and shipping

One full 72-cell plug tray: 72 young starter plugs of this variety (cells about 1⅓ in. wide × 2½ in. deep), rooted and ready to pot up into quarts or gallons. Best for growers and nurseries. Potted plants and plug trays ship during our live-plant seasons, March 1–May 31 and October 1–November 30; June through September is local pickup only. Plugs, potted plants and trays do not ship to AZ, CA, HI, ID, NV, OR, UT or WA.

Shipping note: Long taproot resents disturbance; plant promptly on arrival and avoid breaking up the root ball.