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Echium
Chrissy the gardener
Posts: 1,072
in Plants
i have three echium piñata which I grew from seed last year they are now planted in the ground and are getting lovely and tall , just wondered when they usually flower.
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Do you mean Echium pininana? If that is right then these Echiums are biennial - like foxgloves - and flower in their second year. They make a big rosette in their first year ready for flowering the following year. However, they are not reliably hardy in the UK, depending on where you live and will possibly need some winter protection. They are magnificent when in flower and the bees absolutely love them. I bought one year old plants last season and they flowered and grew up to about 9 feet in my garden. You have made me want to get some more next year!
I have two in the front garden which have just finished flowering I rather think this was their third year - I'm outside Dundee so those in the warm South shouldn't have a problem. The one in the photo reached just over 13ft.
The photo below shows a group in the back garden - I use the term garden loosely- with the central one being 6ft.
What I have noticed is that the growing conditions in front and back garden have a marked effect on the plants - those in the back on well drained loose soil - with two planted in what was a bed I used to tip old compost on have done the best.