Showing posts with label Echium pininana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Echium pininana. Show all posts

Wednesday

The Giant Viper Echium "Tower of Jewels"


Echium wildpretii and Echium pininana

I've never seen anything like this. Looks like this huge (also called) "Tower of Jewels" grows this size in within 2 years. How gratifying is that? :) I got seeds for the blue/purple variety Echium pininana Pride of Tenerife, the color other being red to pink.
Some other Echiums are white and maroon red.

This evergreen plant can be found as a garden ornamental but is intolerant of low temperatures. As for most Echium it is favored by bee-keepers for its high nectar and pollen content.

Wildpretii is an interesting plant that produces a basal dense rosette of narrow hairy silvery leaves during the first year and in the third year produces an erect inflorescence between 3-9 foot tall. The plant blooms from late spring to early summer. The plant dies after fruiting, leaving lots of seeds.

This amazing plant can grow up to 10 feet tall, but 6 feet is more usual. It doesn't grow much in its first year, but concentrates on sending down a very thick tap root. The next year it grows a lot and may bloom under optimal conditions.
  
 The narrow silvery Grey leaves have a stiff texture. You can expect flowers in year two or three, and these are impressive and worth the wait. The wildpretii flowers from March to May in the lower regions or August in the mountains. From the center of the Tower of Jewels rosette, grows a stately inflorescence with thousands of blue flowers, which forms a thick column, sometimes up to 1 foot thick. 
Suitable for xeriscaping. It is an excellent plant for; seaside garden, shrub borders and containers.

  • Plant Source Link (none available, please let me know if you have a source)
  • Seed Source Link


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Thursday

Dr. Seuss Trees - Tree Echium


Probably the drama queen of the Echiums...


Echium pininana, also called Tree Echium and Giant Viper's bugloss, is a plant, native to La Palma in the Canary Islands. 

E. pininana is a biennial or triennial, showing little more than leaf in the first year, but subsequently produces a dense, 10-12 ft high (potentially) flower spike that carries a dense mass of leaves and small blue flowers. Attracts many Hummingbirds, Bees, Butterflies.


The tree echium is a showy plant, that will withstand negative temperatures down to 26°F - 25°F (-3°C to -4°C) - zone 8+


Inflorescence of the tree echium appears in the beginning of the second spring. Resembling a Palm tree, the stem quickly reaches up to 10-12 ft tall, and bears numerous tiny blue-violet flowers. 


Certainly the most sought-after of all Echium species that will bring crowds flocking to see it. Stunning!


Seeds...

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