Echium pininana help

I’m struggling for guidance on what to do with these. I have a couple which I grew from seed last year. I’ve had them in a conservatory over winter and they don’t look great. I don’t know if they are alive at all. What should I be/have been doing with them all winter?

 

@Anguisfragilis Photographs might help and also where are you in the country.
Here in Devon they self seed like mad and at this time of year look a bit tatty. Mine are just starting to produce new growth.

 

I had a couple of smaller ones out doors but I think they are dead now, the frost back in December killed them.
Not been able to get a decent one through winter for a few years now unlike some years ago when they mostly survived here.

I've got some potted E. wildpretii that are in the greenhouse and look a bit sad but are alive, I find they need a surprising amount of water and feed to grow successfully in pots, and for E. pininana pretty big pots.
They should survive frost free fairly well.

 

I have some in pots in an unheated greenhouse after losing all the outdoor plants to frost last year.
They're surviving. They wilt if they get too dry, but I'm sparing with the water..

We can only guess randomly about yours - can you post pics of them?

 

They self seed here in Cornwall too. Here's photos of up behind the dustbins. Taken January 2023 then summer 2024. Normally they prefer shelter and they get loads of rain here. Ok with light snow but not frozen ground or sustained weeks of cold. They really need to be in the ground. They look very sulky when transplanted but will suddenly shoot up very fast. Here they are triennials

 

I’m in East Horks. Next door neighbour used to have them going great guns. Mine are looking very sorry but do still have green on them. I’ve struggled with how much to water them so basically have only a couple of times over winter but the compost hasn’t dried. Looking at how much 2l plants cost I’ll give up on them if the seed doesn’t work.

 

I have a couple of other Echium species in my cold greenhouse and over winter water them when they start to wilt; this can be once a fortnight. These are in a mix of soil, compost and grit so fairly free draining.
What sort of temperature is your conservatory?

 

Here are my two Echium pininana.
This one is just getting going

This one is multi headed five in total.

 

I have a number of Echium pininana coming into flower at the moment all over 8ft the tallest closer to 14 ft. However one lost it's growing tip winter/spring 23/24 and later produced 6 growing points two of which have extended and are coming into flower, one other grew a couple of foot and then stopped, the other three have done nothing.
So the question is when the flowering two finish and die back does it all die or do the three undeveloped shoots carry on and flower into 2026.
See above for photos earlier in the year.

 

I'm guessing the whole lot dies.
I've never liked the look of the ones that have lost the main growing point.
I used to remove all side shoots apart from the strongest one.