viper’s bugloss
Echium vulgare
RHS Plants for Pollinators
USDA zones4 to 8
SunNeeds full sun (6+ hours)
WaterHandles dry to moderate soil
Size1 to 2.5 feet tall12 to 18 inches wide
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Habit
- Clumping
- Bloom season
- Spring, summer, autumn
- Bloom color
- Blue with red s
- Foliage color
- Green, white
- Soil types
- Sand, loam, clay, chalk
- Soil pH
- Acid, alkaline, neutral
Garden uses
Attracts
Notes
Viper’s bugloss (Echium vulgare) is an annual for borders, pollinator gardens, cottage gardens, and meadows. This plant likes full sun and dry to average soil of most types. It grows in a clump and tolerates drought, so it needs little care. Its blue flowers have red marks, and they draw butterflies and bees. It sits low on the menu for deer. Let it seed around in a meadow for a naturalized look.
Pairs well with Cornflower, Lamb’s ear, and Calendula.
Native range
Europe, Central Asia, Altay, Corse, and 12 more places. See all 16
Europe, Central Asia, Altay, Corse, Cyprus, East Aegean Is., Irkutsk, Kirgizstan, Krasnoyarsk, Krym, NW. Balkan Pen., Sardegna, Sicilia, Tadzhikistan, Türkiye, and Xinjiang.