prairie shrub
Coastal bush lupine
Lupinus arboreus
1 of 2Native to California
Ventura to San Mateo counties, California; naturalized and invasive northward.
- Light Full sun Sun tolerance
- Moisture Dry Moisture preference
- Zones 7–10 Cold to heat range
- Bloom Mar–Jun Flowering time
- Height up to 5 ft to 1.5 m
- Life cycle Perennial Annual to perennial
In the garden
A prairie shrub for full sun and lean, dry soil. At up to 5 ft, it needs room in meadows and sunny borders. It shrugs off drought once established. Hardy in USDA zones 7–10.
Growing conditions
Light
Full sun Partial shade Full shade
Moisture
Dry Moist Wet
Hardiness zones
Find your zone:
Pollinators & wildlife
- Bees Brown-belted Bumble Bee
also Western Honey Bee, Yellow-faced Bumble Bee, Black-tailed Bumble Bee +52 more
Bombus fervidus, Red-belted Bumble Bee, Hunt's Bumble Bee, Fuzzy-Horned Bumble Bee, Two-form Bumble Bee, Yellow-fronted Bumble Bee, Tripartite Sweat Bee, California Bumble Bee, Nevada Bumble Bee, Great Basin Bumble Bee, Confusing Furrow Bee, Nearctic Bumble Bee, Blue Orchard Bee, Western Leafcutter Bee, Crotch's Bumble Bee, Orange-tipped Wood-digger, White-shouldered Bumble Bee, Western Bumble Bee, Forest Bumble Bee, Bufflehead Mason Bee, Black-and-gray Leafcutter Bee, Prong-faced Slender-Mason, Small-handed Leaf-cutter Bee, Black-and-green Metallic-Sweat bee, Meadow Parsnip Miner Bee, Kincaid's Cellophane Bee, Truncate Small-Mason, Megachile onobrychidis, Silver-fronted Small-Mason, Tooth-bellied Mason Bee, Buff-tailed Bumble Bee, Episcopal Masked Bee, white-winged sweat bee, Distinguished Sweat Bee, Osmia atrocyanea, Osmia trevoris, Osmia juxta, White-sided Mason Bee, Buckell's Miner Bee, Osmia pusilla, Douglas's Long-horned Bee, Hoplitis hypocrita, Andrena chapmanae, Edwards's Long-horned Bee, Osmia aff.paradisica, Abundantly Punctured Sweat Bee, Shifty Miner Bee, Milwaukee Mining Bee, Osmia nanula, Giant Bumble Bee, Bellflower Resin Bee, Fog-belt Bumble Bee - Butterflies Monarch
also Pearl Crescent, Woodland Skipper, Anise Swallowtail +6 more
Boisduval's Blue, Melissa Blue, Fasciolata Skipper, Arrowhead Blue, Auca coctei, winter copper - Beetles Seven-spotted Lady Beetle also Convergent Lady Beetle, Pacific Three-banded Lady Beetle, Cultellunguis americanus
- Also visited by
- Flower flies: Asymmetric Globetail, Systoechus oreas
- Wasps: American Yellowjacket
Butterflies that use this plant
Documented host and nectar records. Each links to a planting guide for that butterfly.
- Boisduval's bluehost & nectar
- Melissa bluehost & nectar
- Acmon bluecaterpillar host
- Silvery bluecaterpillar host
- Monarch butterflynectar
- Pearl crescentnectar
Full plant details
Where it grows
- Habitat
- PrairieThe wild plant community it grows in.
- Native range
- CaliforniaUnited States (1): CA. Where it grows wild on its own, by state and province.
- Native distribution
- Ventura to San Mateo counties, California; naturalized and invasive northward.The same native range, usually more exact than the state list, and often noting where it has spread beyond it.
Growing conditions
- Light
- Full sunHow much sun it takes, from full sun to full shade.
- Moisture
- DryThe soil dampness it prefers, from dry to wet.
- Hardiness zones
- USDA 7–10 · Canadian 7–9The cold-to-heat climate range it survives.
- Soil
- Sandy soilsThe soils it grows in naturally.
- Soil texture
- Light to medium (sandy to loamy)The soil grade it prefers, from sand to clay.
- Soil pH
- 6.0–7.5The acidity to alkalinity it tolerates (7 is neutral).
- Soil quality
- LowHow rich a soil it needs. Many natives prefer lean soil and flop in rich beds.
- Water use
- LowHow thirsty it is, a rough guide to how often to water.
- Drought tolerance
- HighRelative to plants of the same type and region, inferred from where it grows, not a days-without-water figure.
- Salinity tolerance
- MediumHow well it copes with salty soil, near roads or the coast.
- Lime (CaCO₃) tolerance
- LowHow well it copes with chalky, lime-rich soil.
Growth & form
- Height
- up to 5 ft (to 1.5 m)Typical mature height.
- Spread
- ~4 ft (1.2 m)How wide one plant gets, a guide to spacing.
- Life cycle
- PerennialWhether it lives a single season (annual), two (biennial), or returns for years (perennial).
- Growth rate
- ModerateA relative ranking versus other plants of the same type (USDA), not an absolute rate.
- Shape
- ErectIts overall silhouette.
- Root depth
- 10+ in (25+ cm)How far the roots reach, a guide to drought resilience and transplanting.
Flowers, foliage & fruit
- Type
- ShrubWhat kind of plant it is.
- Bloom
- Mar–JunWhen it flowers.
- Flower color
- Yellow, BlueThe bloom color, or colors.
- Toxicity
- None knownWhether any part is poisonous to people or pets.
Propagation & seed
- Cold stratification
- Not requiredWhether seed needs a cold, moist spell before it will germinate.
- Propagation
- Bare root, container, seedHow to start new plants.
- Seed
- ~0.0 million seeds per poundNotes on the seed and how to sow it.
- Seed spread rate
- SlowHow readily it self-sows. Slow or none means well-behaved, not a spreader.
- Seedling vigor
- LowHow strongly young seedlings establish.
- Vegetative spread
- NoneWhether it creeps outward or stays put in a clump.