Beautiful, evergreen, and exceptionally rare, this Summer blooming Echium creates a dense, multi-branching woody shrub to 5’ tall bearing unusual smooth brownish red branches with maturity. In Spring it bursts into a mass of cylindrical soft blue spikes with long, protruding anthers. And the flowers keep coming till mid-summer, held upright above broad, softly hairy, lance shaped mid-green leaves. A treasure! Grow it in humus rich, well-drained soil. Can be grown in a large container. Attracts bees, butterflies, and hummers. Self-sows!