November 25, 2024, 2:50 pm | Read time: 4 minutes
The common viper’s bugloss is the perfect choice for easy-going gardeners who want to garden close to nature. This is because the native wild plant requires virtually no care, reseeds itself, and provides food for bees, bumblebees, hoverflies, butterflies, caterpillars, and birds.
If you have enough imagination, you can recognize the head of a viper with a forked tongue in the individual flowers of the common viper’s bugloss (Echium vulgare). Everyone else will simply see pretty, small, pink-purple-blue flowers in large numbers.
Like borage and comfrey, the plant, which is also known as common viper’s bugloss, blue viper’s bugloss, or blue Henry’s bugloss, belongs to the family of rough-leaved plants. It is native to many parts of Europe and western Asia. In the wild, viper’s bugloss is mainly found on industrial wasteland, railroad embankments, roadsides, and dry grassland.
Overview
Appearance and growth
The common viper’s bugloss is a biennial, deciduous plant. In the first year, it forms a rosette of leaves, followed by the 40- to 80-centimeter-high flower stalks in the second year. The stems and leaves have bristles, just like other rough-leaved plants. The flowering period begins in May and lasts until October.
Sowing and planting viper’s bugloss
The seeds can be sown directly into the bed in spring or fall. If you don’t want to sow the seeds yourself, you can use pre-grown young plants. A planting distance of 40 centimeters has proven to be good.
Location and soil
Viper’s bugloss prefers a sunny location with well-drained, nutrient-poor, sandy, stony, and dry soil. The plant will also do well in slightly wetter soil as long as it does not become waterlogged.
In the garden, viper’s bugloss is suitable for gravel beds, wild herbaceous borders, or rock gardens. It can also grow well on embankments. Suitable bedding partners include widow flowers, catmint, coneflower, lavender, steppe sage, feather grass, and cotton cress. Balcony and patio gardeners can also keep the plants well in containers.
Varieties
There are no varieties of common viper’s bugloss. However, there are many other species in the viper’s bugloss genus, some of which are suitable for the garden. Echium candicans, also known as Madeira viper’s bugloss or “pride of Madeira,” is not hardy but is particularly beautiful with its purple flower candles up to 20 centimeters long. The Russian viper’s bugloss (Echium russicum), on the other hand, survives the winter well in our latitudes. This robust plant displays its wine-red flowers between June and August.
Caring for common viper’s bugloss
The plant requires virtually no care.
Watering
The common viper’s bugloss copes well with drought, as its taproot enables it to obtain water from deeper layers of soil.
Fertilization
As the plant prefers to grow in nutrient-poor soil, fertilization is not necessary.
Pruning
The plant withdraws into the ground in winter. After flowering, which occurs in the second year, the plant dies. If you want to prevent self-seeding, cut off the inflorescences after flowering.
Propagation
The best way to propagate viper’s bugloss is by sowing. If you already have viper’s bugloss in your garden, you don’t need to worry about propagation as the plant will reliably reseed itself.
Overwintering
The viper’s bugloss is completely hardy and does not need any protection.
Toxicity
The viper’s bugloss is considered slightly poisonous. This is mainly due to the pyrrolizidine alkaloids it contains.
Alternatives
A nice alternative to viper’s bugloss is ox tongue. It also belongs to the rough-leaved family, likes sunny and dry locations, and attracts many insects for months with its purple flowers.
Bee friendliness
Viper’s bugloss is a very good bee pasture and a rich source of nectar for numerous butterflies. The plant also serves as a food plant for some caterpillars. The seed heads are a popular source of food for birds in winter.
Diseases and pests
Diseases and pests do not occur. Snails and slugs also ignore the viper’s bugloss.
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Use as a remedy
Viper’s bugloss is said to have healing properties. Fresh plant parts ground into a pulp are said to help with strains and sprains. Despite its poisonous ingredients, common viper’s bugloss can also be enjoyed as a tea. It is said to help against colds and fever but should only be consumed in small quantities.