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Products > Echium candicans 'Starburst'
 
Echium candicans 'Starburst' - Starburst Pride of Madeira

San Marcos Growers has permanently closed as a business. This is an archived page preserved for informational use.  
Image of Echium candicans 'Starburst'
[2nd Image]
Habit and Cultural Information
Category: Shrub
Family: Boraginaceae (Borages)
Origin: Madeira Islands (Atlantic Ocean)
Evergreen: Yes
Red/Purple Foliage: Yes
Variegated Foliage: Yes
Flower Color: Blue
Bloomtime: Summer
Synonyms: [E. fastuosum 'Starburst']
Height: 4-6 feet
Width: 6-8 feet
Exposure: Full Sun
Seaside: Yes
Summer Dry: Yes
Deer Tolerant: Yes
Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs
Winter Hardiness: 25-30° F
May be Poisonous  (More Info): Yes
EEchium candicans 'Starburst' (Starbusrt Pride of Madeira) - A densely growing large evergreen with an odd variegation having long, gray-green leaves with pale green mottling through the center of the leaf. The leaves are held at the ends of the branches on this evergreen shrub that can grow to 6 feet tall by 6 to 8 feet wide. Large stalks of small clear blue flowers bloom in the spring on into the summer.

Plant in full or part day sun where it is drought tolerant and hardy to short duration temperatures down to about 25 degrees F. It is a good plant for seaside gardens.

This plant is a spontaneous mutation that burst forth at San Marcos Growers from Echium 'Star of Madeira', a plant introduced by Paintbox Plantsman that we first began growing in 2004. It appears similar to another sport from 'Star of Madeira' that was named 'Death Star'.

As the common name Pride of Madeira implies, this species comes from and is endemic to the island of Madeira, where it grows on rocky cliffs and terraces between 2,500 and 4,600 feet in the Central Mountain Massif. 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. For more information on the species see our listing for called Echium candicans

The information displayed on this page about Echium candicans 'Starburst' is based on our research conducted about this plant from books in our nursery library as well as from information that is provided by reliable online resources. We also have included our own observations made about it as it grew in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers when we had them in our nursery field. We also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.

 
We closed for regular business at the end of 2025 in order for the property to be developed for affordable housing.
Our gates remain closed but we will open them by appointment to interested parties as we liquidate remaining supplies and equipment.