The Westcountry™ Red Rum Lupine, otherwise known as the Lupinus ‘Red Rum’ Plant Patent #18,709 or Black Lily magnolia, Magnolia × soulangeana ‘Nigra’, is a rather well known shrub plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and fast growth, this shrub will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, taking care of your Westcountry™ Red Rum Lupine is not too difficult – as long as you follow our guidelines in this Westcountry™ Red Rum Lupine Care Guide. Now let’s get started.
In order to take proper care of your Westcountry™ Red Rum Lupine you’ll need to keep in mind the following guidelines:
- Water: The Westcountry™ Red Rum Lupine prefers constant watering each week and more during the hot season.
- Light: Keep your Lupinus ‘Red Rum’ Plant Patent #18,709 in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Westcountry™ Red Rum Lupine in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of sand, loam, and clay.
And that’s practically it! If you keep these three factors in check, your Westcountry™ Red Rum Lupine will likely have all it needs for it to survive and even thrive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Westcountry™ Red Rum Lupine belongs to the Magnoliaceae family, the genus Magnolia and the species Liliiflora, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Lupinus ‘Red Rum’ Plant Patent #18,709 (loo-PY-nus).
As with other Magnolia’s, the Westcountry™ Red Rum Lupine is a herbaceous plant, which means it will die back to the ground every year.
Growing Region
You might be wondering why your Westcountry™ Red Rum Lupine’s native region is important. Well, if you know where your plant originally came from, you’ll know which environment conditions it prefers, and with it, knowledge on how to replicate it at home.
With this in mind, the Lupinus ‘Red Rum’ Plant Patent #18,709 will be most used to the heat zones in the 1 – 9 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 4a, 4b, 5b, 5a, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8b, 8a and the ideal climate zone is between 2, 2B, 3, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Westcountry™ Red Rum Lupine is a relatively fast grower, which makes things tricky for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, what size of Westcountry™ Red Rum Lupine are we talking about? What can you expect in terms of height, spread and spacing? Let’s dig in…
The Lupinus ‘Red Rum’ Plant Patent #18,709 can grow up to 8′ – 12′ (240cm – 3.6m) in 8′ – 12′ (240cm – 3.6m) and 8′ – 12′ (240cm – 3.6m) in 8′ – 12′ (240cm – 3.6m).
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful rounded, and upright shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
Water
In terms of watering, the Westcountry™ Red Rum Lupine is a fairly simple plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Lupinus ‘Red Rum’ Plant Patent #18,709 prefers constant watering each week and more during the hot season.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Westcountry™ Red Rum Lupine in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
But, if you want a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to watering your Westcountry™ Red Rum Lupine then you should consider the famous ‘finger’ test. To perform this test, you just need to put your finger in your plant’s soil and determine if it’s moist or not. If it is, then don’t water; if it isn’t, then please do. In any case, this test will allow you to know if your Westcountry™ Red Rum Lupine needs or does not need water, every time.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Westcountry™ Red Rum Lupine prefers to have soil with good drainage properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of sand, loam, and clay.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably neutral to acid soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Westcountry™ Red Rum Lupine requires full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this shrub will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Lupinus ‘Red Rum’ Plant Patent #18,709 in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being a herbaceous plant, the Westcountry™ Red Rum Lupine will die back to the ground every year.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (late).
Flowers
You can expect your Westcountry™ Red Rum Lupine to flower around the spring months from April to June (spring).
In particular, this shrub is well known for its flowers for cutting and showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Westcountry™ Red Rum Lupine produces some beautiful red, or purple/lavender, brown/coppergold/yellow, and red/burgundy flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Westcountry™ Red Rum Lupine have a beautiful green color during most of the year.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Westcountry™ Red Rum Lupine is well known for being able to attract butterflies and birds, so keep that in mind when choosing your plant, as you’ll likely end up finding one or another in your garden.
Additionally, it has a special tolerance for clay soil, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Lupinus ‘Red Rum’ Plant Patent #18,709 will be fine.
Garden
How should you then organize your garden to include your new Westcountry™ Red Rum Lupine? Here are some recommendations by expert gardeners.
Most Lupinus ‘Red Rum’ Plant Patent #18,709 owners agree that this shrub will look great in most cottage, contemporary and rustic gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of informal and cottage, city and courtyard, and in traditional garden styles.
In particular, the Westcountry™ Red Rum Lupine’s best location within your garden is in small gardens, beds and borders, hedges and screens, and in wall-side borders, others use it for landscaping in a container, mass planting, border, cutting garden, or a urban garden.
Companion Plants
Westcountry™ Red Rum Lupine’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Phlox subulata, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Aquilegia will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
And we’ve come to an end. Fortunately, that’s everything you need to know about your Westcountry™ Red Rum Lupine to keep it safe and sound in your garden or home. Enjoy planting!
