Anchusa azurea – Azure Plant (quart pot)

Description

A relative of Dyer’s Alkanet and a not-very-well-known member of the borage family.

Zone 3 to 9; Herbaceous perennial native to the Mediterranean and Southern Europe… Intense, royal purple flowers, as big as nickels. Flowers are sweetly edible. Fresh roots are a poultice for anti-inflammatory application. Due to pyrrolizidine alkaloids, not for internal use. Excellent beeplant.

Anchusa azurea is extraordinary on the landscape, but like many Boraginacea they do get rangy after flowering. At this point, cut them back to the base and they will gather their resources and go for another flowering cycle. Full sun and fast draining soil.