Echium wildpretii | tower of jewels

Regular price: $8.99
Regular price
Sale price: $8.99

Shipping calculated at checkout.

4" pot

order now for FALL 2025 shipping or pickup

Tower of jewels (Echium wildpretii) is an incredible biennial or short-lived perennial that can be found growing high up (4,200 to 6,500 feet) on volcanic slopes in the Canary Islands. It forms a terrific rosette of silvery foliage in its first year. In its second year, it sends up towering (up to 10 feet!) spikes of pinky-red flowers. Pollinators adore this plant.

Full sun and excellent drainage is required to grow this plant. It tolerates temperatures as low as 25 degrees F.

Cold weather gardeners:
This plant is not winter hardy! Please follow these overwintering tips from the Chicago Botanic Garden or from Longwood Gardens.

Want to try this plant? We suggest ordering now if you have the ability to overwinter. Our greenhouse is not heated and spring availability is not guaranteed. Our plants germinated in March 2025 and may begin to bloom in spring 2026.

Distinctions: Recipient of an Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society in 2002.

Zone: 9 to 11
Family: Boraginaceae
Type: Herbaceous Perennial
Height: 36 to 96 in.
Spread: 24 to 36 in.
Exposure: full sun
Conditions: light, dry to medium, well-drained
Bloom Time: May to June
Native Range: Canary Islands

Special Characteristics

Rabbit resistant
Evergreen
Deer-resistant
Drought resistant
Pollinator favorite
Silver foliage

image credits

I, Jörg Hempel, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE, via Wikimedia Commons

Ordering information

Preorders

You may place your order anytime to reserve plants for fall 2025 shipment. If you place multiple orders, we will combine plants into one box (or as many as needed) and any extra shipping charges will be refunded.

We will resume shipping plants as soon as temperatures cool in our location and yours.

We will check in with you a week before shipping to make sure you receive your plants at a time that is convenient for you.

Shipping

Live plants ship in spring and fall only. Plants may ship dormant, depending on variety and season. Shipping costs are most reasonable when bundling like size plants.

4-inch: 1-6 plants ship for $15.00 / 7-13 plants ship for $18.00 / 14-30 plants ship for $40.00
1-gal: 1-2 plants ship for $18.00 / 3-4 plants ship for $25.00 / 5-6 plants ship for $40.00
trees & shrubs: $27.00-$40.00 each, height dependent
seeds: $6.75 or free with orders over $15.00

We regret that we cannot ship internationally or to the following states: AK, AZ, CA, CO, FL, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, UT, or WA.

Nursery pick up

Plants can be collected from the nursery Monday through Sunday from 10am-4pm in Spring, Summer, and Fall. We prefer 24 hour notice to get your order together and will email you when ready for collection.

Plant Sizes

We most commonly use the following pot sizes for perennials:

4-inch pot: 3.5" H x 3.5" W x 3.5" D
2-quart pot: 6" H x 5.25" W x 5.25" D
1-gallon pot: 6.87" H x 8" Dia (this is a true one gallon pot, not the smaller 'trade' one gallon pot used by many nurseries)

Check out our illustrated pot size guide here.

Representative trees & shrubs are photographed in their pots and posted on each plant page.

Sustainability

Sustainability is at the heart of what we do at The Old Dairy. We grow all of our plants outdoors without the use of chemicals, fertilizers, carbon fuels, or peat.

Many of our perennials are grown in the ground and dug upon order (this is especially true for larger sizes). This practice allows us to grow stronger, healthier plants using native soil, and ultimately reduces our impact on the environment.

Our open-pollinated seeds are collected from plants in our mother beds, which have never been treated with chemicals or sprays of any kind.

Read all about our sustainable practices here.