Editing Lupinus polyphyllus (section)

==Cultivation and uses==
[[File:Flores de lupino (Ushuaia).jpg|thumb|Garden cultivars of ''Lupinus polyphyllus'']]

It is commonly used in [[garden]]s for its attractiveness to bees, as well as its ability to improve poor sandy soils with its nitrogen fixing ability and flowers. Numerous [[cultivar]]s have been selected for differing flower colour, including red, pink, white, blue, and multicoloured with different colours on different petals. Often hybrids between ''L. polyphyllus'' and ''[[Lupinus arboreus|L. arboreus]]'' are used, and sold under hybrid names such as Rainbow Lupins, Lupin Tutti Fruitti, and Band of Nobles (mixed), Chandelier (yellow), My Castle (red), Noble Maiden (white), The Chatelaine (pink), and The Governor (blue). They are very hardy plants, surviving extreme temperatures and withstanding frost to at least {{convert|-25|°C|°F}}. The wild varieties can easily become [[invasive species|invasive]] and hard to dispose of unless kept in check on a regular basis. Growing lupins in pots can help prevent them from growing invasively in the ground.<ref name="How To Grow Lupins In Pots - The Ultimate Guide">{{cite web|url=https://www.plant-garden-secrets.com/blog/how-to-grow-lupins-in-pots |title=How To Grow Lupins In Pots - The Ultimate Guide |date=10 Oct 2022 | publisher=plant-garden-secrets.com}}</ref> They need a reasonable level of sun to survive, and do best in light soils, suffering in heavy and clay types. Once fully established they are extremely resilient and may be divided. Seeds taken from the mother plant will never be a true replica of the original even if they produce similar colourings.

Low alkaloidal or sweet [[cultivar]]s of this lupine suitable for [[fodder]] crops have been bred. To avoid restoration of alkaloid synthesis in cross-pollinated species of lupine, a new approach has been developed on the basis of specific crossing. Only compatible forms are involved in hybridization, with their low alkaloid content controlled by one and the same genetic system. These approaches have allowed transforming this bitter weed into a valuable fodder crop. In the conditions of Northwest Russia positive results from the use of the sweet commercial cultivar "Pervenec" (first sweet variety), which is included in the State Catalogue of selection achievements of Russia. Breeding of sweet lupine is carried out also in Finland. The newer garden hybrids of today are highly poisonous because they are full of toxic alkaloids and should never be eaten.

The species is also toxic to livestock.<ref name=Knopf>{{cite book |last=Whitney |first=Stephen |title=Western Forests (The Audubon Society Nature Guides) |date=1985 |publisher=Knopf |location=New York |isbn=0-394-73127-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/westernforests00whit/page/601 601] |url=https://archive.org/details/westernforests00whit/page/601 }}</ref>