Anchusa azurea

Common name: Wild bugloss; alkanet
Plant type: Hardy perennial
Flower color: Brilliant azure blue
Bloom period: June; September
Fragrance: None
Height: 3-5 feet
Hardiness: USDA Zones (4)5-8
Light needs: Full sun
Moisture needs: Average to dry
Seasonal character: Tall heads of myriad intense blue flowers in June and again in September

Wild bugloss is one of those "sleeper" perennials that never seems to have gained acceptance by modern gardeners. I suspect this is due to a misunderstanding on the part of gardeners on just how to grow this plant, and its resulting less-than-optimal garden performance. We gardeners, given to pampering our plants with lots of organic matter and fertilizers, often can get into trouble with plants that don't thrive on such a rich diet. Wild bugloss is such a plant.

Native to the lean soils of the dry mountainous and Mediterranean regions of Europe, wild bugloss can pretty much be counted on to fail you three ways if you grow it in rich soil with too much water. First, it will grow enormously tall and leggy, promptly keeling over as it gets ready to bloom. Second, its flowers will be sparse. And third, it probably won't overwinter.

However, if you treat it like it's used to being treated--lean, well-drained to dry soil--and cut it back right after its first blooming, you'll be rewarded with a stalwart perennial that is crowned with myriads of intensely azure, true-blue blossoms atop a sturdy stalk in early summer and again in early fall. Cutting the flower stalk off at ground level after the first bloom encourages rebloom, as well as the formation of a stronger basal rosette of foliage--key to strong overwintering. Refrain from using hardwood or bark mulch around this plant; these products keep the ground too waterlogged for its liking. Mulch instead with pea gravel.

Wild bugloss has long, spatulate leaves that are covered with coarse hairs (like many members of the borage family). The much-branched flower stalk blooms with masses of small, forgetmenot-like blossoms of the most intense blue imaginable--a rare color in the flower garden. The roots of wild bugloss contain a pigment used for dye, and have historically been employed for their wound-healing properties.

This is a perennial that is easy to start from seed, and in fact impossible to divide, as it has a single long taproot. Sow the seed in early autumn or early spring, either in place in the garden, or in deep pots or plug trays.

The old standard cultivar of wild bugloss is 'Dropmore'. Personally, I can't tell a lot of difference between it and the species (shown in the photo). Perhaps its flowers are a hair larger. A new seed strain, 'Feltham Pride Strain,' promises more compact growth. Neither of these varieties is a true cultivar (asexually propagated), but rather a selected seed strain.

Wild bugloss is an easier plant to grow than you think. It's just that more--in terms of soil enrichment and water-- is not better for this plant. Just treat it lean and mean!

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Products of Interest:
Average to dry soils--Wild bugloss
Champagne perennial pruners
Métis/ leather garden gloves
Collection Herbier--Forgetmenot

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Hamamelis virginiana	Hamamelis x intermedia	Jasminum nudiflorum	Lonicera fragrantissima
Nepeta sibirica 'Souvenir d'André Chaudon'	Parrotia persica	Pulsatilla vulgaris (formerly Anemone pulsatilla)	Rosa x multiflora 'Ghislaine de Felighonde'
Sarcococca ruscifolia	Agastache rupestris	Alchemilla mollis	Buddleia alternifolia
Calamintha grandiflora	Colchicum species	Helianthella quinquenervis	Helleborus niger
Hibiscus syriacus 'Bluebird'	Lespedeza thunbergii	Solidago rugosa	Tilia x europaea