Tree Echium Snow Tower

Also known as Echium pininana alba and bred in Guernsey, Echium pininana Snow Tower is a rare, pure white version of the popular purple tree echium, and is a magnificently architectural, short-lived perennial for milder gardens. A very attractive rosette of large, hairy, silvery-grey leaves is produced in the first year, followed in the third year by a tall, stout, leafy, flower-stem bearing hundreds of pure white flowers; these are produced from June to September, and are a magnet for bees and butterflies. Echiums die after flowering, but will seed about; only keep seedlings with pale green leaf-stems, as others will not come true. Although this cultivar is fairly cold-hardy for an echium, it is not for the coldest gardens; in milder gardens, protect the crown in winter with dead bracken or straw. Tree echium Snow Tower holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit. Wear gloves when handling, as the leaves can irritate some skins.