Worth knowing:
The half upright growing Pride of Madeira is probably the most beautiful species among the Echium genus. In early summer it produces up to 100 long flower sparks with an intensive blue colour that attracts many bees and butterflies. The plant grows up to 150 cm tall and spreads its twigs up to 2 meters wide, which gives it the looks of a candlestick. At the tip of its buds the Pride of Madeira develops hairy, grey-blue coloured and velvety-soft leaves.
Natural Location:
The Echium candicans has its natural habitat only in Madeira, where it grows in the lower parts of open laurel forests. Today it can also widely be found in the Mediterranean region.
Cultivation:
Seed propagation indoors is possible throughout the year. Spread the seeds onto moist potting compost and put just a little compost earth on top. Then, cover the seed container with clear film to prevent the earth from drying out. Don’t forget to make some holes in the clear film and take it every second or third day completely off for about 2 hours. That way you avoid mold formation on your potting compost. The Pride of Madeira needs a clear difference between day and night temperatures - if the seed container is kept constantly warm, there might be no germination at all. So, place the seed container somewhere bright and warm with a temperature between 20° and 25° Celsius during the day and a temperature of 5° to 10° Celsius at night. Keep the earth moist, but not wet. After about six weeks the first seedlings should come up.
Place:
Your plant prefers a full sunny place, even if it gets very hot during the summer.
Care:
For cultivation it is best, to mix the earth with one third of sand to optimize the permeability of the soil. Tub plants should be watered regularly and sufficiently - during summer preferably every day since the plant needs plenty of water - but see that you avoid waterlogging. Its nutrient requirements are rather modest, a dose of fertilzer for tub plants every two weeks in the months between March and September would be adequate. Pruning is not advisable since cut-back branches don’t always grow new leaves - better to let your plant develop its natural beauty with wide-spreading sprouts.
During the winter:
Since the shrub keeps its leaves during winter, a very bright place with temperatures between 5° and 15° Celsius for hibernation is recommended. For a short time the plant also tolerates a minimum temperature of 0° Celsius. If it is kept too warm during winter, the Pride of Madeira will produce less flowers next year. Keep the earth constantly moist, but on a smaller scale.
Picture credits:
- © © Klaus D. Peter - CC-BY-SA-2.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
- © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Consultaplantas - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
- © Daderot - Public domain - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/
- © Leo-setä - CC-BY-2.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
- © Bjørn Christian Tørrissen - CC-BY-SA-3.0 -
- © Klaus D. Peter - CC-BY-SA-2.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
- © - -
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