3 years in the making!

If I manage to do this right (with me and computers, there's no knowing ! ) there should be a photo of my hubby and daughter with my prized echium.
I've always admired these in photos, especially at Tresco, where I believe they grow like weeds. Well, three years ago I got some seeds, managed to germinate twelve of them ,and grew them on in the greenhouse for the first yer. They were planted out in various spots in the garden next yer, and over the folowing two years all, bar one succumbed to one thing or another. I watched anxiously over the remaining one,as it grew taller and taller, hoping that winds wouldn't get it, cold weather,(didn't think any bugs would be brave enough to tackle it ! )and finally this 'summer? ' it's flowered, and I'm soooooo chuffed, I just had to take a photo of it.
But, I'm not too sure what happens to it after? does it die? can I cut it back? will hundreds pop up all over the neighbourhood?For now though, I just keep looking at it to check that it's still there! Does anyone else have a plant that they've been desperate to succeed with?The other one I cannot grow despite all measurs taken are lupins, I must have airborne molluscs around here !!!!I doesn't matter how big I let them get in pots before I plant them, as soon as they're in the ground, overnight they dissapear.

Good piccie! What a curious looking plant! Don't have any of those in my region. I think it must be milder where you are. Sorry I can't advise on caring for it. But congratulations!
I managed to grow a lupin from ssed. Started it off in seed-tray in my kitchen. transferred outside a year ago. Now it has a lovely purple spike in flower. And it's a bigger better spike than the lupins which I boughtr from the garden centres. They're not hard to germinate, just harder to get to full size and flowering.

I believe it's Nova Scotia or New Brunswick Canada that the Lupin grows wild infact it's their provincial flower. I've never seen a flower like your Echium Sueone it's awesome.

they set millions of seeds as far as I know then die. out of these you are bound to get a few to flower in 2 years time.

lucky you as it's too cold here to grow them unless youlive by the sea or are close enough for the warming affects during winter

a green with eny Mark

Congrats to you..amazing looking plant!
nice family too..

Beautiful!!!
Don't you want to put this lovely Echium pininana in the Plant Data Base?
It is a really excellent specimin!!
Well done.
Nice to see the flags are out, hope you had a nice Jubilee Day!!

All the best

Wintermoor

Aaaaaaaaw Sueone that's brilliant. I've admired them in Madeira and other warm places, and for ages had a hankering after trying to grow one but never have. And you've done it!!!!
What an achievement :)

Sueone

Fantastic plant and pic!

Whenever people ask me why I don't go 'back home' to the midlands I think they must misunderstand the climate we have on the south coast LOL.

Do you know what species this is? I've tried numerous times to get Echium boissieri to grow and failed dismally! We also have enormous trouble with Lupins, slugs and whitefly :(

wow! that's huge, very impressive!

BAA,
I believe it's Echium pininana.

Kood be rong thoe

All the best

Wintermoor

yes, it is echium pininana, I also tried a couple of the other tender echiums ,but they all died the first year, so I guess that they won't survive here.
Philomel, my in-laws live in Kent, in Folkestone, and they manage to keep all sorts of stuff over winter, which surprised me as they often get snow,and colder than us.Mind you their house is very near the sea, they live just above Folkestone harbour.We used to walk to the ferry, nip to France for a £1.00,buy our booty, sail back, then hubby would nip back for the car, while I sat on our pile of goodies.Quicker than shopping in Safeways ! :-)I think
I'll put it in the Plant data base Wintermoor,it's good with this new camera I got for Christmas, I've been snapping away at allsorts, shame I don't use it to it's full potential though, I'm not too good with technology,I seem to have a job remembering instructions !!!! must be my age.When my son comes back for a weekend, I get him to show me how to do things I'm not sure of, by the time he's gone back home, I've forgotton what I'm supposed to do,and then I have to phone him to ask again.This is the woman who turned a c.d. over the play the B -side !

Nice one ;-)
What did it sound like ?? Tee Hee!!

Wintermoor

Yes, i don't have the advantage of being so close to the sea Sue. But i really ought to have a go at some of these more tender things some time - you never know........and then you can't be certain LOL

Yes, it's only a 30 min run to the tunnel, or a bit more to a boat, from me. So I too pop over for some booze occasionally. Very handy. I usually come back laden with snails, mussels, goats' cheese, garlic and all sorts of other similar goodies. Some people may think them disgusting, but they're treats to me.

Just love that echium

That is simply amazing!

That echium is huge. We grow them here on Vancouver Island. We start them in pots and over winter them under the deck. We had some grow quite large last year but not that large. They throw off lots of seedlings so just pot some up to over winter. We usually put them in 10 gallon buckets. We put ours out too early this year and a few got frosted. The echium boiserri is pink and really pretty, doesn't get that big though. DH will love to see this picture. It's one of his favorite plants. Did you fertilize it a lot?

brugcrazy - I thought you'd like it - isn't it astounding???

Hi Brug, no fertilizer, just stuck it in the ground and away it went.I'll put it on Daves forum, so he can see it,I'll try to grow a forest of them next time !!!:-)I did buy some fleece this year in case I had to cover it up at any stage, but luckily it was very mild this winter.