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EmailBotanical name: Echinacea
Plant type: Flower
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Sun exposure: Full Sun
Soil type: Loamy
Flower color: Red, Pink, Purple, White
Coneflowers are bright perennials, some of which are used in herbal remedies. These flowers are easy to care for, relatively drought-tolerant, and are good for cut flowers. Coneflowers are daisy-like with raised centers. The seeds found in the dried flower head also attract songbirds to your garden.
Planting
- Loosen the soil in your garden using a garden fork or tiller to 12 to 15 inches deep, then mix in a 2– to 4–inch layer of compost.
- Plant the seeds in the spring in humus-rich, well-drained soil about 1 to 3 feet apart, depending on the type, in full sun. Coneflowers can tolerate some shade.
- If you are moving a potted plant outside from inside, dig a hole about twice the pot's diameter and carefully place the plant in the soil. Bury the plant to the top of the root ball, but make sure the root ball is level with the soil surface. Water it thoroughly.
Care
- In the spring, put a thin layer of compost around the plants, then a 2–inch layer of mulch to help keep the plants moist and prevent weeds.
- If you receive less than an inch of rain a week, water your plants regularly during the summer.
- If your plants are floppy, cut them to the ground after they flower.
- Remember to cut off the dead/faded flowers to prolong to blooming season and prevent excessive self-seeding. To attract birds, keep the late-season flowers on the plants to mature.
- Divide your plants into clumps every 3 to 4 years in spring or autumn, although coneflowers do not like excessive disturbance.
Pests
- Leaf miners
- Powdery mildew
- Bacterial spots
- Gray mold
- Vine weevils
Recommended Varieties
- Robert Bloom (Echinacea purpurea), which has prominent, dark orange centers with bright crimson flower petals.
- Tennessee coneflower (Echinacea tennesseensis), which has greenish-pink centers with dark mauve flower petals.
- Finale White (Echinacea purpurea), which has creamy white flower heads with greenish-brown centers.
E-Cards
Send a free e-card of this color coneflower.
Click here to see other images of coneflowers in our e-card gallery.
Special Features
- Attracts Butterflies
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Comments
my cone flowers lack color
this past year all of my coneflowers in three different flower gardens have lost color and vigor. they grew spindly and with fewer stalks. What happened? How can I fix?
Help my coneflowers
My coneflowers look deformed. The flowers bloom with only half the petals or with petals rimmed in black. I don't know what to do because we seem to be doing everything we should. The only thing that might not be right is that I doubt that they get 6 hours of direct sun a day.
it is a disease that there is
it is a disease that there is no known cure for. just cut of the heads, make sure you throw them in the garbage not the compost. and hope for the best next time they come up. We have had this happen on most of ours, as we have over 55 different ones.
If you have deformed
If you have deformed coneflower flowers with scarce petals, this sounds as if you have a flower disease called Aster yellows. Unfortunately, the flowers have to be pulled. See more: http://hort.uwex.edu/articles/aster-yellows/
transplanting to new bed
I moved about 3 of my prized coneflower plants 3 weeks ago to a new flowerbed, boy has it been a babysitting job1 I think one is going to succumb to over exposure to the sun, but the others are doing well, after I cut them back severly. I will never do this again!
"Stratify" means to expose
"Stratify" means to expose seeds to low temperatures in order to get the seeds to germinate. Hope that helps!
Planting
If planting from seed, must stratify the seeds first by planting in a germinating mix and putting in the refrigerator for 30-60 days. Once plants are established, birds will plant for you after they digest the seed. Apparently going through the bird's digestive tract stratifies the seeds.
coneflowers
i am getting some seeds from the seed exchange and need to plant them what does stratisty mean? Can u help me? Thanks, Jackie
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