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Best lupin seeds: review volume beats the tiny 5.0

Updated: 21 October 2026

A star rating looks like a winner, and this amazon.co.uk shelf is not a trial. The seven packets were listed between about £2.50 and about £8.99 on 19 October 2026, with no UK lab germination percentage. Best here means a Russell perennial you can wait a year for, and a review file large enough to include the failures. It is not the highest stars on the smallest sample. The [lupine seeds comparison](/hub/herb-seeds/lupine-seeds) holds the full table. Peter F. compared listings with public UK sources, not a sowing test. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

A star rating looks like a winner, and this amazon.co.uk shelf is not a trial. The seven packets were listed between about £2.50 and about £8.99 on 19 October 2026, with no UK lab germination percentage.

Our top picks

Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's blue/purple Russell

Best overall

Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's blue/purple Russell
7.1/10about £3.45
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Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Russell mixed

Rank 2

Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Russell mixed
8.4/10about £2.50
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Damavand Pro Damavand Pro Russell mix

Best value

Damavand Pro Damavand Pro Russell mix
7.7/10about £3.59
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What best can mean here
  2. 2.The packet with the most reviews
  3. 3.Listings that cannot carry a ranking
  4. 4.Awards that are not this packet

What best can mean here

A star line counts amazon.co.uk reviews. This page claims no Award of Garden Merit for these ASINs. The 2024–2026 lupin trial ended early because of lupin aphid and gave no awards. The top pick is Mr Fothergill's Russell mixed, about £2.50, 4.3 from 274 reviews, when you want a named UK brand and a file that includes failed sowings as well as praise. Which plant to buy is on how to choose lupin seeds.

The packet with the most reviews

Model 11554 is a hardy perennial that flowers the year after sowing and is suitable for attracting bees. The item count is 75, and about £2.50 is the lowest price in the set, so review volume and price land on one row. The file still disagrees on germination and on whether a mix stays mixed, so plan a second module. Bullets say 120 cm and the specification says 60 cm, with partial shade. The pieces field is 11554, the model number, not 11,554 seeds.
Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's blue/purple Russell

Testsieger

Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's blue/purple Russell
7.1/10about £3.45
View offer

Listings that cannot carry a ranking

Nika seeds, about £2.99, has no rating line, a title of 80 seeds, and other fields of 700 and 300. Instructions are not attached. That is a gap, not proof the seed is dead. SemiSauvage is 3.6 from 3 at about £4.03 for 50 dwarf seeds, with no life cycle, a product type of Légumes, and a review posted in Belgium. Buy4seeds is 5.0 from 1 at about £8.99 for 20 seeds of Lupinus angustifolius: a delivery comment, not flowers. Avalune, 4.0 from 58 at about £3.59, is the annual.

Awards that are not this packet

A 1937 RHS gold medal on a Suttons Russell page is that shop's copy. It does not move to an amazon.co.uk ASIN because the word Russell appears, and it does not cancel a trial that ended with no awards. The Award of Garden Merit was recommended for removal from Lupinus arboreus, which is not in this set. Damavand Pro, 4.2 from 30 and 200 seeds at about £3.59, is the best value if you want more seed per pound and a second-year line, on fewer reviews than 274. It is not a hidden trial winner. Ignore the 15 cm bullet on the blue and purple packet.

Common questions

Which packet has the most UK reviews?
Mr Fothergill's Russell mixed, at about £2.50, shows 4.3 from 274 reviews in this capture. The next flower packets are 4.5 from 62, 4.0 from 58 and 4.2 from 30. Nika seeds has no rating line. A larger file is more informative. It is still not a germination trial, and the same 274 reviews include complaints as well as praise.
Is a higher star rating better germination?
Not on these numbers. The 4.5 average sits on 62 reviews, against 4.3 on 274. The 5.0 sits on one review about delivery and price for Lupinus angustifolius, which is not the Russell packet. Stars do not record a germination percentage, and no percentage of that kind was taken from the seed-marketing rules for ornamental packets.
Did the RHS name a best lupin seed?
Not among these listings. The RHS growing guide still suggests Award of Garden Merit cultivars where they exist. The 2024–2026 lupin trial ended early because of lupin aphid and made no awards. A 1937 gold-medal line on a Suttons page is that merchant's copy, not a result for an amazon.co.uk ASIN.
Why do reviews of the same packet disagree?
A mixed Russell packet is many colours, and seed is a hard coat in compost that can rot if it stays wet. Buyers on the about £2.50 Mr Fothergill's listing report both success and failed germination, and they do not agree that the mix stays mixed. That spread is what a large review file is for. A three-review listing cannot show the same spread, so it looks calmer than it is.
Is the 5.0 packet the best?
No. Buy4seeds at about £8.99 is 20 seeds of narrow-leafed lupin and one five-star review that does not describe flowers. You would be treating a delivery comment as a plant trial, and paying several times more per seed than the ornamental mixes at about £2.50 to about £3.59. Skip it unless you specifically want that species and you will not eat the seed.
Should I avoid listings with no instructions?
Treat a missing instruction line as a gap, not as a verdict on the seed. Nika seeds says instructions are not attached and also contradicts itself on the seed count, which is enough to leave it out of a ranking. You can still sow any Russell packet you do buy at about 5 mm after a nick or a soak. That method matters more than a star.
Can best mean best for a pot?
Only if you change the plant. The most-reviewed packet is a tall Russell perennial, and the RHS puts that type at about 90–120 cm, with a height clash of 120 cm and 60 cm on the listing itself. A patio pot is a better match for the dwarf annual Avalune in this set, which is a different job and a different row. The pot, the slugs and the aphid are a separate question from this ranking.

Related pages

Russell lupins or annual lupins

How to sow lupin seeds

Lupine seeds

How to choose lupin seeds: type, count, then price

Growing lupins in pots: depth, slugs and the aphid

Sources

Public UK sources named below. amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts on these seven listings were read on 19 October 2026. Page updated 21 October 2026.

  1. RHS lupin growing guide (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. RHS Russell Group (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. RHS harvested-seed germination requirements (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. RHS lupin aphid (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. Seed Marketing Regulations 2011, regulation 4 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, Schedule 9 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. GOV.UK food allergen information for businesses (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. The Kennel Club, poisons in the garden (retrieved 19 October 2026)