re Echium breaking


I have had the same problem this year and lost two enormous echiums following heavy rains. The branches just can't support the weight and so break. This has happened in the past too. I garden on a hillside and never give my echiums any water except when young. One that broke off was about 4 years old, the other only two years old but both were big.

My thinking is that after such a long dry summer last year - the hottest and longest on record - I live in the south of France, near to Menton and the Italian border - and when it did finally rain, it was too much weight for the plant, whose branches had gotten too brittle. I'm not an expert gardener tho and would love an answer.

Having said that, I've other echiums on other banks that have been going strong for five years, never get water except for the Spring and Autumn rains and they are even bigger than the ones that broke and yet show no signs of breaking - so you tell me!

I've had exactly the same problem with an old fig tree too and now tend to keep the branches pretty well pruned so they don't get too heavy during rain.

There are several photographs of echiums on my website. Go to 'Gallery' and then to 'Villa Lou Milou' and scroll down to find the echiums. I'm not a professional gardener but hope you enjoy the pics. I've many more plants to put on the website when time permits.

Best wishes - Jilly Bennett--

Jilly Bennett, Pension Milou
http://www.pensionmilou.com/

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