How do I care for my echium?

Joan Fox, by email

Stefan says: You ask which kind of echium you have and how you should look after it. You don’t give an address but I can only assume you live in a fairly mild part of the country with a sheltered garden because these relatively tall, shrubby or almost tree-like echiums will certainly not grow outdoors everywhere.

Most of the tall species are endemic to the Atlantic Islands – Madeira, Cape Verde and the Canary Islands – although other small species, like the pretty viper’s bugloss (Echium vulgare) are British natives. There are many species, most with blue flowers, and I suspect yours is Echium pininana. Yours is obviously doing well and provided it is given regular liquid feed, you need to do little else, although in colder winters it should be protected with horticultural fleece. After they have flowered, the main plant usually dies, although off-shoots may arise from the base.