On 2014-05-31 14:50:50 +0000, rbel said:

On Sat, 31 May 2014 07:17:54 +0100, Sacha
wrote:snip

That's excellent, I do wish I could have some success with Echium. Ray
Brown has a group of pininana on the roadside outside his place at the
moment which are very spectacular.

Do they not like your soil or is it too wet for them? We have one E
piniana which plonked itself right on the edge of a narrow path. Ray
tied it back to a stake when it was still a youngster, so it's not
irritating people! It's been a very good year for Echiums, probably
because of the mild winter and warm spring. Ray (mine!) has been
taking cuttings of the E. fastuosum. It's one we got from Tresco and is
a particularly good blue, not wishy-washy. They're absolutely smothered
with bees, so that's gratifying in itself.


I have tried three times using varying proportions of JI and grit, the
last try was with a 50/50 mix butwith no success. Perhaps the JI is
too nutritious.

I can only say that in Tresco they grow on sandy tracks a few yards
from the sea, as well as in the steeply sloping and rocky parts of the
garden. Here, they're in quite decent soil, though on a slope. But the
ones I describe growing wild in Tresco have put themselves there, so
poor soil doesn't seem to bother them at all.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon