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Thermopsis lanceolata |
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| | A blast of cool yellow in the late-April garden |
| Common name |
golden pea, golden banner |
| Family |
fabaceae |
| Life cycle |
perennial (Z3-9) |
| Flowers |
yellow (mid-spring) |
| Size |
3-4' |
| Light |
sun-part shade |
| Cultural notes |
ordinary garden soil, drought tolerant |
From seed  |
nick and soak seed, germinate warm
detailed seed-starting info below
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| Seed ripens | late June |
I'm not sure about the identity of this one. It grew from the same batch of seed as our Thermopsis villosa, but is clearly a different plant: it blooms about a month earlier (in early May, instead of early June), has pointier leaves, and its flowers are arranged more sparsely along the flower stalk. All in all, a very nice plant. A first tentative ID of Thermopsis montana cames from suggestions on Gardenweb, but following several user comments on this page, I've concluded it's more likely Thermopsis lanceolata. Whatever its name, it's an asset to our garden.
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We left this plant behind in our Pennsylvania garden (and wish it well); we don't grow it in Houston. About my plant portraits
PlantLinks to other web pages about Thermopsis lanceolata
Visitors to this page have left the following comments| Karen | Jan 02, 2006 | I'd like to know the name of the woody plant behind the yellow thermopsis! Thanks...
That's spirea. |
| Liz | Apr 28, 2008 | Hi Rob! I'm a newcomer to your website and am looking forward to your plant sale this weekend! I have this plant blooming in the garden right now-bought it at the end of the season and had no idea what it looked like. It only had the label "Carolina Lupine", no latin term : (((
Carolina lupine is normally used as the common name for Thermopsis villosa - but in my experience, that one blooms later. |
| Meredith | Jan 24, 2009 | It looks like Thermopsis chinensis to me. |
| T. Skinner | Apr 26, 2009 | Is this plant invasive? I thought lupine is on the USDA list of invasive weeds.
Invasive species lists go by botanical name, not by common name - the same common name can be applied to many species, differing greatly in their native status and aggressiveness. As for this plant, I find it not at all invasive in our climate: doesn't spread by roots, and I've not seen volunteer seedlings. |
| Casey | May 08, 2009 | Do you know where I could purchase this plant. I have Baptisia in dark purple and in white and would love to have some of the yellow. |
| LuAnn Martin | Jun 03, 2011 | I saw the thermopsis Montana for the first time this spring, like most gsardeners, I have the perfect spot for it! can you give me a lead to the seeds or the plants? enjoyed your web page
I don't have any seed left at the moment - maybe I'll be able to collect some later this year. Off-hand, I wouldn't know of any seed sources. Good luck finding some - it's a nice plant. |
- Seed from '03 garden. Baggy 70F (6w; 7%G, after scarifying with sandpaper in 5th wk) - 75F (3w; 29%G, after further scarifying)
- Seed from '04 garden. Sandpapered hard, soaked overnight. Baggy 70F (4w; 2%G, 12d) - 75F (45%G, 2-14d)
- Seed from '06 garden. Sandpapered, soaked 1d. Baggy 75F (7%G, 5-19d).
Try again, same seed. Sandpapered, baggy 70F (23d) - 75F (17d; 10%G, 5-13d)
- Seed from '08 garden. Sandpapered, baggy 75F (21d; 4%G, 7-9d) - sandpapered - (14d; +2%G, 4d) - sandpapered - 70F (9%G, 2-7d)
Seedcoats impervious to moisture - scarification and warmth both help germination.
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