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ECHIUM
Commonly known as
Includes the monocarpic monsters, E. pininana, which, if conditions permit, will self seed and multiply to bee-loving pillars.
Flower colours are blue, purple, yellow, white or red.
Genus of rosette-forming, stiffly hairy annuals and evergreen biennials, perennials (some monocarpic - plants which flower and fruit just once and then die) and shrubs from stony hillsides, cliffs, open woodland and grassy steppes in Europe, the Canary Islands, the Mediterranean, Africa and western Asia.
Further Reading....
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Evergreen - rosette forming evergreen annuals and biennials including shrubs.
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Half hardy - unheated greenhouse / mild winter - Hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK except in severe winters and a risk from sudden (early) frosts. May be hardy elsewhere with wall shelter or good micro-climate. Likely to be damaged or killed in cold winters. Plant can withstand temperatures down to -5°C (23°F) -
Full sun -
Partial shade - can tolerate partial shade. -
May cause skin allergy or irritant - Having skin or eye contact with these plants could result in an allergic reaction, burning or rash. -
Additional Features - Good to know - - grown for their spikes of funnel- or bell-shaped flowers. Wildlife plant - bees, hoverflies. -
Pests & Diseases - slugs attack new growth - in greenhouse whiteflies and red spider mites can be problemmatical. -
Place of origin - Europe, Canary Islands, Mediterranean, Africa, western Asia. -
Hardiness - Frost hardy (down to -5) -
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Soil Conditions - Fertile well drained soil -
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Wildlife - Bee friendly -
Buy Varieties of ECHIUM
ECHIUM fastuosum >
Commonly known as: Pride of Madeira.
(candicans) - medium bushy shrub with grey-green foliage and short spikes of bluish flowers
ECHIUM pininana >
Commonly known as: Tree echium.
(pinnifolium) - single stemmed biennial with long green leaves and enormous spikes of purplish-blue flowers
ECHIUM pininana 'Blue Steeple' >
Commonly known as: Tree echium.
Biennial producing an eyecatching spire of masses of blue flowers
ECHIUM 'Red Rocket' >
(E. wildpretii x E. 'Pink Fountain'). 4-6 ft spikes of dark pink-red flowers with blue anthers. Some frost tolerance given shelter and good drainage. Perennial
ECHIUM wildpretii >
Commonly known as: Tenerife bugloss, Tower of jewels.
Silvery, hairy leaves with a tall red flower spike
