Coneflowers, also known as Echinacea, are tough little native flowers that draw butterflies, bees, and birds to the garden! Here’s how to grow this American native—and important tips on plant care, from deadheading to cutting back in June.
Bright upright plants, coneflowers are a North American perennial in the Daisy family (Asteraceae). Specifically, the plant is native to the eastern United States, from Iowa and Ohio south to Louisiana and Georgia. They grow 2 to 4 feet in height with dark green foliage. They are fast growers and self-sow their seed profusely. These midsummer bloomers can flower from midsummer through fall frost!
Their genus name Echinacea comes from the Latin name for hedgehog, echinus, referring to the often prickly lower stem of the plant. Coneflowers have raised cone-like centers (hence, the name) which contain seeds that attract butterflies. Leave the seed heads after bloom and you’ll also attract songbirds!
Trouble-free, coneflowers are drought-tolerant, once established. They can take the heat! As native plants with prickly stems, they are more deer-resistant than most flowering plants.
The most common species available to gardeners is Echinacea purpurea, the purple coneflower. If purple doesn’t pair well with your garden’s color palette, don’t fret: coneflowers can be found in a range of bright or subdued colors.
Coneflowers are at home in a traditional garden or a wildflower meadow; they are striking in masses, especially as a mix of various colors.
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Salsa red Sombrero coneflower seeds
Help. I planted these red coneflower seeds inside on April 8 in the sunniest spot I have and later added a grow light. So far there's not even a small sign of green or life. Should I give up? Thank you, Mary Lou in Santa Fe .
where are they?
Did you keep the seeds moist? Sun will dry soil pretty quickly, and most seeds need moisture in order to germinate.
Did you set them at the proper depth (check the seed packet)? If they are too deep they may not set.
Never give up. I honestly think that moisture may be what’s missing.
Early spring coneflowers damaged by weed eater
Hello. I have a well established (planted 2 years ago) bed of coneflowers. They bloomed the entire summer and fall of last year. This spring the new growth was healthy & strong..about 3 inches high, and the person who mows my grass cut them severely down, thinking they were weeds. What should I do? They show some new growth and haven't died yet. Will I have any flowers this year?
Your plants will grow back
Your plants will grow back but you may not have as many flowers as last year. Think of it as heavy pruning.
missing coneflowers
I planted about 8 to 9 coneflowers last year. They grew and had good blooms all summer into fall. I went to clean out my flower beds this past weekend (leaves) to get ready for spring/summer and there is not one that I can find. Nothing. It's like they completely disappear. No sign whatsoever. What happened???
Goneflowers
Hi, Denise: If you can find absolutely no trace of the plants, including stems and leaves, you may indeed have a mystery on your hands–unless you live in Area 51, that is, and this is some kind of X-Files thing. But echinacea is tasty to a lot of critters, and many will just haul away the seedhead–and sometimes anything attached to it–for further inspection elsewhere. Our guess? Deer. Thanks for asking!
Inquiry
I know they'll eat most anything, but I thought coneflowers repelled deer. Wrong?
Deer Resistant Coneflowers
Coneflowers won’t repel deer, but they are generally considered to be deer resistant, meaning that deer will usually pass the flowers over in favor of eating something else. As you said, deer will eat most anything, though, and coneflowers are no exception when other food is scarce.
Coneflowers dead?
I live in zone 9, near Tampa. I have never grown coneflower, and I planted 2 hybrid coneflowers, late summer last year, in September. Both of them started to die in December. Now it is late February and both plants are dead all the way to the ground. I gently yanked the remaining brown stems, just to see how dead they actually were and they came off easily in my hands. There is now no signs of life there at all. Will they come back, or should I just try to plant new ones? If they are actually dead, what might have killed them? We had a mild winter with a few frosts, but generally Temps did not go below 30. I watered lightly only every few days through the winter months, which has always been adequate for my other plants. Thank you!
Coneflower in Florida
Hi, Julie, Such a particular problem requires a particular response—and our experience with this particular combination of circumstances is shallow. So we sought out some people/sources who appear to be experts.
• This page suggests that the “vast majority of coneflower being propagated in Florida does not come from Florida stock” and so acts like annuals in Florida; this could be your problem: http://hawthornhillwildflowers.blogspot.com/2013/07/purple-coneflower-ec...
• This page says that Purple Coneflower is native, but can be vulnerable to slugs: http://orange.ifas.ufl.edu/res_hort/pp.html#Purple%20Coneflower
• As the first link suggests, there are several varieties of coneflower, more still because they were produced/introduced in a rainbow of colors a few years ago. It’s not clear what your hybrid is, and that’s why this page may be of interest. Scroll down through the alphabet of plants on this page until you get to “Cone Flower.” You’ll see a picture of a YELLOW—not PURPLE—flower. The text indicates that this variety is native to Florida and thus more likely to thrive. http://nassau.ifas.ufl.edu/horticulture/gardentalk/flowers.html (Pls note that there is a plant sale mentioned in this text; we have absolutely no information on that event; contact the source of the page for more information.)
We hope this helps! Gardening is always an experiment in nature.
Should I cut the blooms off my newly planted Coneflowers?
I just bought and planted a whole bunch of "PowWow" and "White Swan" coneflowers end of September. They look pretty happy with nice blooms. Now I'm reading online that you should not let the flowers bloom the first year so that the roots develop and they make it through the winter. But the blooms were already all there when I bought them. Should I quickly cut off all the blooms and buds on my plants? Or wait till they die off naturally (which I assume should happen soon). I'm not sure if this late in the year any of the energy would go into making roots anyway. I am in Virginia and it is just starting to get cold with nights down below 40 degrees. It would be sad if they died their first winter!
If your plants are healthy
If your plants are healthy and had a good-size rootball when you planted them they should be fine. You can add mulch around the plants when the ground freezes.
I have white coneflowes
I have white coneflowes planted in my back garden which gets sun early in the morning. When they bloomed the stems were crooked and bent over. Should I move them to more sun or is there something else wrong?
Coneflowers prefer full sun
Coneflowers prefer full sun and lean, dry soil. Usually the stems are very sturdy but there could be many factors causing yours to bend. Are there borers living in the stems? Did you over-fertilize which causes rapid weak growth? Did they get too much water? Is the soil heavy and wet? Try moving them to a sunny spot with sandy soil and see if that helps.
I recently was giving the
I recently was giving the tops from a friend from her cone flowers, I was told to just plant them in my flower beds and they will grow next year, they will create a root from the seeds from the cone flower heads. By chance is this correct, they are beautiful flowers, just want to check before I planted soon.
If the seedheads are nice and
If the seedheads are nice and dry you can plant them in the ground. You may want to break the heads open and take out the individual seeds to plant. Just remember that the seeds need at least 2 to 3 weeks of chilling temperatures to germinate. If you have cold winters you are all set.
Hi, It is now Aug4 and my
Hi, It is now Aug4 and my Cons have had a great season of growth and flowering due to little help from me. I have noticed that that the purple are not looking as good as the yellow but of late we have had less rain so the plants seem to be top heavy and are falling from the weight it seems. My question is how should I prep for winter and should I cut back the heavey plants? Do I just let them go the distance? Thanks.
Hi Pat, Cut off the dead
Hi Pat, Cut off the dead flowers to prolong the blooming season and prevent excessive self-seeding. If your plants are floppy, cut them to the ground after they are done blooming. To attract birds, keep the late-season flowers on the plants to mature.
Some of my cone flowers have
Some of my cone flowers have finished blooming and it looks like the seeds in the head are sprouting. I've never seen this happen before.
The finches are having a great time eating seeds from the others. Could you tell me if what looks like sprouting actually is?
You may have a coneflower
You may have a coneflower rosette mite problem. See link page at http://bygl.osu.edu/content/di....
I have purple and light
I have purple and light yellow cone flowers and the light yellow look healthy but the petals have not filled in. The raised center looks healthy...why no petals?
I've had Purple Coneflower
I've had Purple Coneflower plants for years. Pulled some out last year with Aster Yellows. Every year some of the plants' leaves turn brownish and harden a bit. I've never understood but removed them as they appeared. This year, two of the plants' central blooming stalk - all its leaves and leaves to all the buds down the stalk have turned the same brownish color and have the same tough texture. The flowers are still beautiful and most of the leaves on the whole plant are a healthy looking green although some look like they want to join their ugly friends. Is this a fixable condition?
Too much moisture on the
Too much moisture on the leaves and stems can cause them to turn brown. Make sure there is air circulation around the plants and if you need to water only water the soil around the plants. Brown spots on the leaves can also be caused by bacterial leaf spot disease.
I just planted some
I just planted some coneflowers from the nursery (and apparently too close together I have learned from comments) but I have noticed that the flower stems are standing up straight and tall all morning, but by the afternoon they are drooped in half. the next morning they are seemingly back to normal and then droop again in the after non. is this normal? they get a solid 6 hours of direct sunlight
Coneflowers do indeed wilt in
Coneflowers do indeed wilt in more drought-like conditions, but will recover with the evening dew. It sounds as though it is hot and they are thirsty and need more water to get them through the summer days.
My son brought home a purple
My son brought home a purple coneflower seedling at the end of the school year. We will be moving, so I don't want to plant it in the ground. Can I plant it in a big pot? If I do, how can I help it to go dormant this winter if we haven't moved by then? Also, when is the best time of year to plant them in the ground?
Yes, you can keep it alive in
Yes, you can keep it alive in a pot. To help it go dormant this winter, leave the pot outside. If you are concerned that the pot might be buried in snow when you are set to move, you can also store it in the refrigerator. The best time of year to transplant is spring or fall. Good luck!
I got a few coneflowers last
I got a few coneflowers last week. I'd like to put them in a container. How big of a container will I need to put both in the same one? Also, at this point, will they survive? Or am I better off putting them in the ground now? I live in northeastern Ohio. Thanks!
Hi Deb, The coneflowers will
Hi Deb,
The coneflowers will do better if you plant them in the ground. They will have time to establish before the cold weather arrives and will be better protected during the winter months.
Recently, I planted a
Recently, I planted a butterfly and hummingbird garden. Everything that I planted has popped up through the ground and looking great! However, my coneflower plant has not. Am I getting impatient or could it just not be time yet? How much longer should I wait? I located in zone 6A. Thanks - Lori
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