Echium pininana is a stunning biennial plant from the Canary Islands. In its first year it forms a low rosette of silver, hairy, spear-like leaves, and then in the second year it sends up a huge spike loaded with small blue flowers. It makes a dramatic statement in a sunny, sheltered garden, and is extremely attractive to bees.
After flowering, Echium pininana scatters seed and then dies, so we have listed this an an annual.
It self-seeds readily in mild, sheltered parts of the UK, but seed is unlikely to germinate in cooler regions. There are some fabulous examples in Cornwall, where they love the milder climate.
