Chives vs Silky Lupine - TreeTime.ca

Chives vs Silky Lupine

Allium schoenoprasum

Lupinus sericeus

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Chives
Silky Lupine

Chives are small bulbous perennials commonly used as herbs in cooking for a mild onion like flavour. Chives also add ornamental benefits to your yard with their tubular grass-like leaves and clusters of pale purple flowers. The flower heads can also be used as a garnish or in oils.

It is best to harvest Chives from the base to maintain the attractive clumps. If the flowers are not dead-headed, it will self-seed. Planting our overwintered chives will give you a head start in your vegetable garden.

Silky Lupine is a native perennial wildflower known for its upright spikes of blue to violet flowers. Blooming from late spring into summer, the nectar-rich, showy blossoms attract a variety of pollinators, especially bees and butterflies. The plant’s fine, silky foliage provides soft texture and visual interest, enhancing landscapes throughout the growing season.

Silky Lupine is a nitrogen-fixing plant that enriches soils and supports surrounding vegetation. Its deep roots stabilize soil, and it spreads naturally by ejecting seeds from drying pods. If spread isn’t desired, new seedlings are easy to remove. While it is foraged by some wild animals, it contains alkaloids that are toxic to livestock. Silky Lupine is well-suited to pollinator gardens, naturalization plantings, erosion control, and ecological restoration projects.

Chives Quick Facts

Silky Lupine Quick Facts

Zone: 4a
Zone: 4a
Height: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Height: 0.6 m (2.0 ft)
Spread: 0.4 m (1.3 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: any
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: medium
Life span: short
Life span: short
Growth form: clump-forming
Spreading: seeds - high
Suckering: none
Maintenance: medium


Toxicity: toxic to sheep and other livestock
Foliage: Silky-haired, palmately compound leaves
Flowers: purple
Flowers: Blue to violet pea-like flowers
Bloom time: mid to late summer
Flavor: onion/garlic
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, YT, NT, NU
Native to: AB, BC
Other Names: schnittlauch