Echiums and seeding

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Echium pinanana, the taller of the two biennials, definitely reseeds in California, being a more aggressive invader of wild areas than the perennial, E. candicans. It is probably best avoided if you live adjacent to wild areas. Both reseed in at least some gardens, popping up in unexpected places. They can be a bit difficult to manage, because the seedlings may not be where you want the mature plant. I suspect that, like E. candicans, they are best transplanted while still quite small, so you need to recognize them early to move them with the least trauma.

Echiums are relatives of borage, so I was cautious of E. vulgare (which is maybe really a biennal, but usually grown as a cool season annual). (I love borage, but wouldn't put it in just any garden because of its vigorous reseeding habits.) I was even more cautious when I read that E. vulgare is a nasty weed in Australia, Canada, and in Washington state. However, these things depend on where you are, and Echium vulgare has reseeded in my San Francisco garden only very lightly. That is, I got only 3 or 4 volunteer seedlings from several vigorously seeding plants. I'd say it is worth trying in California, but don't put it next to a wild area, and do keep an eye on it. 

I wrote about Echiums in my  newest book, Wildly Successful Plants: Northern California, along with 49 other plants that naturalize in California. (While it says Northern, a good portion of them work in the south, maybe with somewhat less of a naturalizing tendency.)

 

Best wishes,

 

Pam Peirce

San Francisco, CA

 

 

 

 

Echiums are among the plants feat