Echium 'Blue Steeple'

RHS Plant Profile
viper's bugloss 'Blue Steeple'

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A triennial plant that in its first and second year forms a rosette to 60cm across, composed of rough, lance-shaped leaves. In its third summer it throws up a huge (4m) flower spike, densely packed with thousands of small purple-blue flowers; these are irrisistible to bees

Position

Full sun

Soil Types

Chalk, Loam, Sand

Max Height

2.5-4 metres

Max Spread

0.5-1 metres

Size

Time to Maturity
2–5 years
Max Spread
0.5-1 metres
Max Height
2.5-4 metres

Growing Conditions

Chalk Loam Sand
Moisture
Well–drained
pH
Acid or Alkaline or Neutral

Position

Full sun
Aspect
South–facing or West–facing
Exposure
Sheltered
Hardiness

Hardiness Ratings

All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets

  • H1A: under glass all year (>15C)
  • H1B: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
  • H1C: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
  • H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
  • H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
  • H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
  • H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
  • H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
  • H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)
H3

Colour & Scent

Season Stem Flower Foliage Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Botanical Details

Family
Boraginaceae
Native to GB/Ireland
No
Foliage
Evergreen
Habit
Columnar upright
Potentially harmful
Skin irritant. Wear gloves and other protective equipment when handling
Genus
Echium can be annuals, biennials, evergreen perennials or shrubs, with simple, coarsely hairy leaves and funnel-shaped flowers borne in panicles or dense spikes in summer
Name Status
Unresolved

How to Grow

Cultivation

Grow in moderately fertile, freely-draining soil in a sheltered, sunny, warm site. Protect from winter frosts in-situ using biodegradable horticultural fleece

Propagation

Propagate by seed sown at 13-16°C in summer, overwintering seedlings at 5-7°C

Suggested planting locations and garden types

  • Architectural
  • City and courtyard gardens
  • Gravel garden
  • Mediterranean climate plants
  • Sub-tropical
  • Wildlife gardens
  • Conservatory and greenhouse
  • Flower borders and beds
  • Wall side borders

Pruning

No pruning required

Pests

May be susceptible to slugs or glasshouse whitefly and glasshouse red spider mite under glass

Diseases

Generally disease-free