Echium russicum

For anyone who wants something different for the border next year, I should like to introduce Echium russicum. They are the tall spikes of dark red. This is the first year they have flowered for me and I must admit I am really impressed.

Unlike most Echiums, this one is really easy to grow. Its a biennial from Russia, and is said to be hardy down to -20C. I grew them from seed early last year. Like many biennials, they only make a big rosette in the first year. They may be hardy, but they doesn't like the winter wet. If you have well drained sandy soil, they should overwinter in the border quite happily. But I am on wet clay, so I overwintered them in an unheated coldframe, and had a 100% survival rate.



All the references I have seen say they grow to a height of 24 to 40 inches. But my tallest is 56 inches, and there are others catching up. The flowers, shown above are small, but the sheer number of them makes an impressive sight, and the bees love them. They have been in flower now for over a month and should last for several more weeks yet.

 

Very impressive Peter:thumb:

I like the sound of its hardiness

 

Thanks Pete. What I like about these, compared to what I have heard of other Echiums, is that they are reliably biennial and can be left outside over winter.

I am also growing 4 other sorts, but you don't know when something like E. pininana will flower and the space it occupies in a frost free greenhouse is huge.

 

I bet the slugs here would love them :(

 

Peter could you tell me where you got your seeds for these from. They look great.

 

Hi Olivia

I am currently growing five different Echiums. Some, including E. russicum, I got from Chilterns http://www.chilternseeds.co.uk/chilternseeds/index/ just put Echium in the Genus box. And some from Jungle seeds http://www.jungleseeds.co.uk/SeedOrders/enter.html under semi-hardy exotics.

Do have a go. They are not the normal run of the mill, border perennial - but Echiums are really good fun. Of all the plant types there is no question in my mind that they are by far the most spectacular.

Two pictures from the internet. The one on the left is E. candicans and on the right E. pininana. I am growing both of these, but I don't quite expect this result. The biggest problem is that they are not very hardy, unless you live in the south. But people in this country do grow them. Thats where E. russicum comes in. If kept dry, it is hardy. They are all biennials so they die after flowering - but I grow an number of biennials anyway, so apart from the overwintering its no more trouble.

 

I'm trying E. boisseri this year Peter, but up until now germination has been very poor.

I only have one small plant.

I'll see how it goes, I would like more than the one so I can try them for hardiness.

 

Thanks Marley - for me they are fun gardening, which is what it should be all about. They make good foliage plants even if they don't get to flower.

Just a correction. I understand that E. candicans shown above (also known as E. fastuosum) can be perennial. However it doesn't help much as, I understand, that it grows too big to protect over winter - quite fast. Pete showed a picture of a lovely one of his some time back.

 

You've just reminded me, I have some echium pininana seeds I got free with a seed order from Marshalls earlier this year...I wonder if its too late to sow them now?

Steve...

 

Steve - no its not too late at all. E. pininana is always quoted as a biennial, and sowing now might not get it to flower next year if it was in the Canary Islands. But in this country, I gather, it takes at least three years to flower - so a bit of delay won't make much differance.