Viper's Bugloss

Viper's Bugloss: variety and characteristics

Viper's Bugloss (Echium vulgare) is a biennial herb of the Boraginaceae family. Viper's Bugloss is a rather exotic plant that forms a rosette of oblong, hairy leaves from which rises a sturdy flowering spike with blue conical flowers along its length.

Each flower has protruding red stamens. The flower buds are pink at first, the flowers turn the most delicate shades of intense blue, and as the flowers fade they take on a purple tinge.

Viper's Bugloss is a valuable plant and exotic enough to earn a place in a flower border, or to use near your vegetable plot to provide pollination.

If you do not want plants that honey bees merely visit, but want to choose plants that bees clearly love, choose Echium for your garden.

The common name records its historical use as a remedy for snake bites. It is also used for skin rashes, stomach and bowel pains, headaches and more.

Viper's Bugloss is a strongly bee-friendly plant with blue-violet spikes, loved by bees.

Key features

• Measured germination rate of the batch: 70%
• Seeds per packet: 102–138 pcs (0.4 g)
• Seed origin: Poland
• Sowing: March and April; direct
• Flowering: May – October
• Harvest: May – July
• Position: sunny spot

When to sow Viper's Bugloss

Viper's Bugloss seeds are sown in March and April. The plants flower in May – October. The crop is harvested from May to July. The months are a guide for a temperate climate — in warmer areas sow 1–2 weeks earlier, in cooler or upland areas, later.

How to sow and grow Viper's Bugloss

• Sowing method: direct
• Depth: 0.5–1 cm
• Spacing: 20–30 cm
• Germination: 10–20 days at 15–20 °C
• Position: sunny spot

Sow from March to April. The seeds should be sown directly outdoors. They prefer well-drained soil in sun or partial shade. The seeds can also be sown indoors, but direct sowing is preferable because they have a long taproot that can be damaged when transplanting. Make two or three successive sowings for continuous colour. Water the soil regularly until the seedlings are established, especially in dry spells. The optimum germination temperature is 15 to 18°C. The sharp bristles covering the plant are a powerful deterrent and can irritate the skin. They lodge in the skin, much like those of a cactus.

Undemanding, likes dry soil.

Harvest and use

Flowers from June to September.

Frequently asked questions

When should Viper's Bugloss be sown?

The recommended sowing months are March and April. Sowing method: direct.

How many seeds are in the packet?

The packet contains 102–138 seeds, pack size 0.4 g.

What is the germination rate of the seeds?

The measured germination rate of this batch is 70%. The test was carried out under controlled laboratory conditions; in the field, emergence depends on soil, temperature and moisture.