This dazzling, completely new, diminutive form of this delightful plant appeared by chance in our gardens at Plant World. Probably an Echium fastuosum/pininana hybrid, it is best grown under the shelter of a hedge or wall and facing the sun, where it makes a low mound of several hairy, grey-green rosettes on numerous branching stems. Stumpy, fat spikes of cobalt-blue flowers open from April to June producing an awe-inspiring spectacle. To perform well it needs protection from cold winds and severe frost though! A limited number of good seeds were collected. (All of our echiums are grown in the same large gardens at Plant World, so you may occasionally have a small % of hybrids.) We respectfully point out that all of our hybrid seed, by its very nature, may produce occasional freaks and oddities. If you discover something remarkable, and are happy to do so, please send us a picture for our website. ... Learn More

Another staggeringly impressive introduction from Plant World. We have for the first time, cross-pollinated 3 different echiums to produce these new plants. The first year a sizeable rosette grows on a short strong trunk. Early the following year (or rarely a year later), several radiating stems sprout from the crown, bend upwards and reach for the sky. Within weeks, numerous short branches expand outwards from each stem bearing countless thousands of buds. When these finally open here, our customers are amazed as these strong, vertical branches sag under the weight of countless thousands of purple blue flowers. These incredible new plants, with the blood of the perennial Echium fastuosum, can survive for several years, even after flowering so heavily, so do not cut down the thick stems unless you are certain they are dead, as many will actually RESPROUT around the bare trunks in the autumn! This giant may self-seed, but does not become a nuisance here and the seedlings are so visible and easy to pull up (if you have the heart)! The odd variant habit or colour may always appear, so we must respectfully point out that all of our new, and sometimes unique hybrid seed, by its very nature, may produce occasional freaks and oddities. Busy bees also pollinate the many plants we grow here in just a few hectares. It is therefore likely that you may get the occasional surprise variant. So If you discover something remarkable, and are happy to do so, please send us a picture for our website. ... Learn More

Yet another valuable variant in the lovely echium series. Just a single plant from several hundred had pure white stems, and thus we suspected white flowers. And so it turned out. This is the first time we have managed to grow and collect seeds from a white form of this perennial, shrubby, bush-forming plant, which forms a solid compact dome when mature, when it can be smothered with a hundred or more swollen trusses of flowers. This really is a perennial in a sheltered situation in a warm garden, or even in a very large pot. In The Scilly Islands and the South West of the UK, and even in our hill-top gardens here, this plant makes a sizeable, long-lived evergreen shrub. Occasionally a plant may produce flower spikes that open with a slight pinkish or pale blue tinge. The odd variant habit or colour may always appear, so we must respectfully point out that all of our new, and sometimes unique hybrid seed, by its very nature, may produce occasional freaks and oddities. Busy bees also pollinate the many plants we grow here in just a few hectares. It is therefore likely that you may get the occasional surprise variant. So If you discover something remarkable, and are happy to do so, please send us a picture for our website. ... Learn More

Thirty centimetre spikes of countless purple-blue flowers open on strong branching stems in spring and summer, although very few good seeds are often produced. This really is a perennial in a sheltered situation, e.g. in a large pot or a very protected garden. In The Scilly Islands and the South West of the UK this plant often makes a long-lived small tree. It is often grown and valued for the enormous, solid silver-grey dome of evergreen foliage and the gorgeous flowers are just candles on the cake! Please be aware that busy bees also pollinate the many plants we grow here so you may get the odd surprise variant! The odd variant habit or colour may always appear, so we must respectfully point out that all of our new, and sometimes unique hybrid seed, by its very nature, may produce occasional freaks and oddities. Busy bees also pollinate the many plants we grow here in just a few hectares. It is therefore likely that you may get the occasional surprise variant. So If you discover something remarkable, and are happy to do so, please send us a picture for our website. ... Learn More

A good mixture of all three of the colour variations, blue, pink and white, of Echium pininana. Plant young plants out as soon as possible in the season to allow plants to be large enough to survive the winter in the open ground. Otherwise, overwinter plants in pots in a frost-free place. To identify each type. Very pale stems have white flowers. Darker stems have blue flowers, Thinner leaf forms are Pink Fountain with pink flowers. The odd variant habit or colour may always appear, so we must respectfully point out that all of our new, and sometimes unique hybrid seed, by its very nature, may produce occasional freaks and oddities. Busy bees also pollinate the many plants we grow here in just a few hectares. It is therefore likely that you may get the occasional surprise variant. So If you discover something remarkable, and are happy to do so, please send us a picture for our website. ... Learn More

This incredible plant initially produces a palm tree-like rosette, with large, thick, hairy leaves on a strong woody stem. This unusual plant is scientifically a 'triennial', and either 12 or 24 months after sowing, the centre, holding thousands of flowers, shoots upwards, sometimes to 4-6 metres! Bees love this giant, which, if you are lucky, will gently self-seed but never becomes a nuisance, as the seedlings are so visible and easy to pull up (if you have the heart)! Most plants will be deep blue although the odd variant colour may always appear. The odd variant habit or colour may always appear, so we must respectfully point out that all of our new, and sometimes unique hybrid seed, by its very nature, may produce occasional freaks and oddities. Busy bees also pollinate the many plants we grow here in just a few hectares. It is therefore likely that you may get the occasional surprise variant. So If you discover something remarkable, and are happy to do so, please send us a picture for our website. ... Learn More

A friend on Guernsey sent us some seeds of an absolutely pure white Echium pininana she had discovered. We could barely believe such a plant existed, but were thrilled to finally see an enormous 15 foot high snowy cascade. Most plants will be white although the odd variation in colour may always appear. You can easily see this at the small plant stage when you will discover that the plants with pale green stems are guaranteed to have pure white flowers. We must respectfully point out that all of our new, and sometimes unique hybrid seed, by its very nature, may produce occasional freaks and oddities. Busy bees also pollinate the many plants we grow here in just a few hectares. It is therefore likely that you may get the occasional surprise variant. So If you discover something remarkable, and are happy to do so, please send us a picture for our website. ... Learn More

This is possibly the most lusted-after plant in our gardens every May and June, and is a fabulous cross we made between the superb Echium wildpretii with its 1.2 metre, fat red spike and the giant blue Echium pininana. The result is a 35 centimetres wide, tapering tower of delicate pink flowers which are like a lighthouse attracting bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects. Although most plants will be pink, the odd variant colour will always appear, but all are very desirable as our bees also pollinate the many plants we grow here.... so you may get the odd surprise! We respectfully point out that all of our hybrid seed, by its very nature, may produce occasional freaks and oddities. If you discover something remarkable, and are happy to do so, please send us a picture for our website. ... Learn More

Flowers opening a bright pink, slowly becoming more blue with age, stud the hairy, bristly stems, which arise from a compact overwintering rosette in earliest spring. This plant makes a tidy but sprawling mound that is best grown hard on a dry bank, or in sand, where it will produce a maximum amount of flower. It is native to western and southern Europe and is quite rare in the UK. ... Learn More

A staggeringly different addition to our already long list of new, big echium hybrids. In spring, countless buds sprout sideways from the trunk, they turn upwards, and then become thick, stout, strong, vertical columns. Tightly-clustered sprays of multicoloured but predominantly violet-purple flowers, cloak them in early summer, continuing to slowly open from the the bottom upwards for many months. The flowers on this variety should be even more compact than on its relatives as it has inherited this characteristic from one of its parents, Echium wildprettii! If deadheaded after flowering, numerous new shoots will usually appear around the remaining stems to continue the display the following year. The odd variant habit or colour may always appear, so we must respectfully point out that all of our new, and sometimes unique hybrid seed, by its very nature, may produce occasional freaks and oddities. Busy bees also pollinate the many plants we grow here in just a few hectares. It is therefore likely that you may get the occasional surprise variant. So If you discover something remarkable, and are happy to do so, please send us a picture for our website. ... Learn More

A swelling, spreading mound of rough stems is smothered with a summer-long succession of delicately marked, deep rose pink tubular flowers. This valuable introduction from dry rocky places on the coast of Portugal is completely new to us, and flowers during the whole of the summer being perfect for that hot dry bank ... Learn More

Tall spikes of brilliant, violet-blue flowers, open on compact spikes beloved by bees. Perfect for growing in a sunny, sheltered spot or sunny patio, it flowers in its second year. In a well-drained soil in a sunny, sheltered spot, it will improve steadily over the years, slowly thickening stems and trunk. In the wild it is rare and endemic to the Canary islands and especially La Palma. Very few fertile seeds collected. ... Learn More

Stout rose-pink spikes of massed flowers, each with protruding stamens holding bright blue pollen, arise from prostrate rosettes of radiating, furry, narrow grey leaves, and if kept very dry it is quite incredibly frost-hardy. This challenge from the high volcanic slopes of the Canary Islands is certainly the most sought-after of all echium species, and indeed one of the most beautiful and dramatic of all flowers, and success will bring crowds flocking to see it. NOTE: This rare plant produces very few viable seeds which must be collected individually by hand as they ripen. You may grow a percentage of hybrids from these seeds as we grow other species close to them in our gardens and we are only happy to sell them with this proviso. (Hybrids are absolutely fabulous!) These plants are, if there is such a description, technically TRIENNIALS, that is, as a rule they flower in their third year (24 months after sowing) with the flowering stem then dying away. It is therefore a sensible policy to grow several which are at different stages of development and to allow them to self-seed. The odd variant habit or colour may always appear, so we must respectfully point out that all of our new, and sometimes unique hybrid seed, by its very nature, may produce occasional freaks and oddities. Busy bees also pollinate the many plants we grow here in just a few hectares. It is therefore likely that you may get the occasional surprise. So If you discover something remarkable, and are happy to do so, please send us a picture for our website. ... Learn More

This is the first time we have released this amazing show-stopper! Echium wildpretii is one of the world's most impressive plants with its 3 foot spike of raspberry-red flowers erupting from a swan's nest of grey hairy leaves. But it can sometimes succumb to frost and winter wet. So we back-crossed it with one of its bigger and tougher children, "Pink Fountain", itself a cross between the relatively hardy Echium pininana and Echium wildpretii! And this unbelievable 4 to 6 foot spectacle was the result. Fat, bee-magnet spikes are thickly crowded with dark pink or strawberry-red flowers, blue-pollen-powdered anthers. In a sheltered, well-drained spot against a wall or under a hedge, it is surprisingly hardy, standing a fair bit of frost. The odd variant habit or colour may always appear, so we must respectfully point out that all of our new, and sometimes unique hybrid seed, by its very nature, may produce occasional freaks and oddities. Busy bees also pollinate the many plants we grow here in just a few hectares. It is therefore likely that you may get the occasional surprise. So If you discover something remarkable, and are happy to do so, please send us a picture for our website. ... Learn More