Japanese name: エキウム ウィルドプレッティー Scientific name:Echium wildpretii
[Overview]
A large biennial or short-lived perennial growing to 3 m tall.
The whole plant is densely hairy and looks grayish green.
The leaves are simple and opposite, lanceolate to linear, about 20 cm long, without petioles.
In the first year after germination it forms a rosette; from the second year on, scorpioid cymes gather in a conical cyme more than 1 m long at the stem tip, densely bearing many crimson flowers.
There are 5 stamens, which protrude far out of the flower.
The fruit is a schizocarp.
[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed.
It tolerates temperatures down to about -5°C, so it can overwinter outdoors in regions without frost.
It dislikes transplanting, so sow directly where it will grow, or sow in plastic pots and then plant out.
It prefers a sunny, well-drained, well-ventilated site, and sandy, slightly alkaline, poor soil suits it.
Take care not to let the soil become too wet; water thoroughly after the soil has dried.
Water collecting on the leaves can cause disease, so water at the base of the plant.
Too much fertilizer makes the plant leggy and worsens flowering and flower color, so apply only a slow-release fertilizer as a base fertilizer.
