Lupine planting today

I'm heading out to the preserve shortly to help with the planting of 700 new lupine plants from Bok Tower.

This is in a new location, but close enough for the two populations to crosspollinate, I've been told.

The other strategy is to move the plantings farther from the residential areas to reduce the likelihood of vandalism, which plagued the first planting.

The big issue is managing the watering. This is going to be a shared task and will be coordinated with rainfall, so we don't overwater or leave the plants susceptible to stress by underwatering.

Spring is a cruel season sometimes for plants because the temperatures (and evapostranspiration) increases, but the rainfall can be sparse. This was supposed to be a wet El Nino winter, but it hasn't turned out that way so far and we can't count on long-term weather predictions.

The big hope is perhaps we'll see some blooms this spring from the first planting.