| Description | Coneflower ABC'c (Echinacea) A medium tall and medium spreading plant for the full sun areas of the garden. There are many great cultivars of this tough native Coneflower. |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | (ech-in-AY-see-ah) |
| Plant Type | Perennials Hardy, Site author's observations |
| Hardiness Zone | 3-8 |
| Sunlight | full to partial shade |
| Moisture | average to dry |
| Soil & Site | average to dry |
| Flowers | Coneflowers come in many shapes and sizes. From the typical daisy, to doubles, thin petals, pom poms, none reflexing, reflexing petals, etc. Colors range from the typical purple and white to reds, oranges, yellows, etc. Flower heads are solitary on a strong stem. The receptacles of the flower are prickly. They bloom from the second week in July to mid-September. |
| Leaves | Alternate leaves are coarse and dark green. Lower leaves have long petiole where as upper stem leaves are almost sessile. |
| Stems | pubescent |
| Roots | fibrous |
| Dimensions | Can reach 3 plus feet tall, by a spread of 18 inches or more. Depends on the cultivar. Space 18-24" on center. |
| Maintenance | This plant will reseed around the garden. I have never found this to be an aggressive problem but offspring probably will not be like their parents. If your plant are deformed, with under-developed petals or weird, extra growths, or a change of color.and the plants are stunted you probably have Aster Yellows. Extremely hard to control best is to avoid planting Coneflowers in this area. I have had it and seems to never go away. |
| Propagation | seeds, division, most cultivars will not come true from seed |
| Native Site | North American Prairies. |
| Misc Facts | Echinacea is derived from a Greek word meaning hedge hog. |
| Author's Notes | To tell the honest truth I am not a big fan of the new Coneflowers cultivars. For me they are not has hardy as species and tend to reseed , not coming true to the original cultivar. To quote from the site #161 "As the "shake out" continues for which of the scores of new Echinacea varieties will survive the long term, versus those which will fall by the wayside, I've a strong suspicion 'Coconut Lime' will be one of the survivors." I believe many, if not most will fall to the wayside. |
| Notes & Reference | #40-Herbaceous Ornamental Plants (Steven Stills), #79-Perennials For Every Purpose (Larry Hodgson), #161-Paghat's Gardens (www.paghat.com) |
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