Tower of Jewels

Echium pininana

• Position: full sun
• Soil: moderately fertile, well-drained soil
• Rate of growth: average
• Flowering period: July to September
• Hardiness: frost hardy (needs protection in winter)
  
  A dramatic addition to the garden, echium produces exceptionally tall flower spikes packed with purple-blue flowers, and towers above everything else in the border in mid to late summer. The rough, dark green, lance-shaped leaves studded along its length give it an architectural silhouette in the dying sunlight, and it is particularly suitable for an exotic planting scheme. It is a biennial or short-lived perennial and likes to be kept dry. Not one for the timid gardener.

• Garden care: In frost-prone areas protect plants with frost fleece. These spectacular plants will usually die after they have finished flowering.