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 % of hybrids.) ... 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. ... Learn More

Twelve inch 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. ... 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. ... 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 15-20 feet! 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. ... 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 variant colour will 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. ... 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 four foot, fat red spike and the giant blue Echium pininana. The result is a 15 inch wide, tapering tower of delicate pink flowers which are light 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. ... 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 rare in the UK. ... 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 E. 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. ... 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

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. ... Learn More