Garden Q&A: My lupins have finished flowering. What should I do with them?

Whether you're a gardening beginner or expert, Irish Examiner columnist Peter Dowdall has the answer to your questions

Lupins growing wild by Lake Tekapo, New Zealand, in summer. Picture: iStock

My lupins have finished flowering. What should I do with them now?

ANSWER

Well, you can simply do nothing and let nature take its course — in which case, the seed pods will dry out and the seeds will ripen. 

Lupins are a particularly easy plant from which to harvest your own seed and sow, so you will have many more to enjoy for years to come.

When the seed pods, which are green and moist right now, turn a brown colour and are more crinkly than pliant, simply open them — if they are not already open. 

You can then collect the black-coloured seeds onto some paper. 

These will store, if kept cool and dry, for several years. 

Alternatively, you can sow this autumn and they will begin to flower in their second year.

Or, you can cut back the dead flower stems. This will promote a second, less showy, flush of flowers later in the summer.

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