Description
Probably the most sought after Echium. Stunning red flowers are produced in profusion on a tall strong spike. This emerges from a stunning rosette of silver leaves in the plants third year. Flowers are loved by bees and insects.
The plants need full sun and sharp drainage. In their native Tenerife they grow high up in the mountains where temperatures can drop to as low as minus 6 degrees C however, it is very dry. So in the UK the plants can withstand light frost if not too wet.
The plants are monocarpic meaning that they flower, set seed and die. This usually takes 3 years with the flower spike shooting up to 1.5 m tall in the third year. Well worth the effort just for the foliage alone.
1.5/2 litre pots, plants in second year.
