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| Category: Perennial |
| Family: Boraginaceae (Borages) |
| Origin: Canary Islands (Atlantic Ocean) |
| Flower Color: Rose Pink |
| Bloomtime: Spring |
| Synonyms: [E. bourgaenum] |
| Height: 4-6 feet |
| Width: 1-2 feet |
| Exposure: Full Sun |
| Seaside: Yes |
| Summer Dry: Yes |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 20-25° F |
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Echium wildpretii (Tower of Jewels) - Echium wildpretii is a rosette forming biennial from the Canary Islands with narrow silver-gray leaves that spread to about 2 feet wide. Upon maturity in the second spring it sends up a single 5 to 7 foot tall spike bearing the same attractive narrow foliage and by late spring this is topped by hundreds of dark pink to almost red flowers in a dense terminal spike. The flowers are attractive to bees and birds and should be allowed to mature fully so that seed is produced to perpetuate the plant in the garden. Plant in full sun in a well-drained soil. Hardy to 20-25 F. The winner of the 2002 Award of Garden Merit by the Royal Horticultural Society. The specific epithet honors Hermann Wilpret (1834-1908), the Curator of the Botanic Gardens at Oratava,Teneriffe (Jardín Botánico de la Orotava or just Botanico). Wilpret first sent the plant to Kew as Echium candicans but upon flowering in 1807 the differences were noted and it was named for him. Other common names include Red Bugloss or Wilpret's Bugloss. The genus name is from an ancient Greek word for the plant. It is derived from 'echion' with the root word 'echis' meaning "viper" but the reason for this has several interpretations. Included among these are the shape of the seed resembling that of a viper's head and from the age-old belief that Echium vulgare, a plant called Viper's Bugloss, was a remedy for the adder's bite.
The information about Echium wildpretii displayed on this page is based on research conducted in our nursery library and from online sources we consider reliable. We will also relate those observations made of this plant as it grows in our nursery gardens and in other gardens that we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has additional information, particularly when they share cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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