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How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Coneflowers
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The pH/acidity levels of the soil could be the culprit. If it is too high or too low it can affect flower coloring.
Thanks for taking the time to scroll through the comments, Beth. We may have found a hint of solution to this puzzle: hybrids. A U of Illinois extension service columnist noted (in 2014) that she had similar experiences with coneflower soon after the introduction of unique Echinacea cultivars in the early 2000s. She records “so-so” results with several of the new plants, including death of some. And she reports having one plant bloom in two colors—one as advertised, so to speak, and one the traditional purple. And after it all, she says she is sticking with the traditional purple variety, Ehinacea purpurea. If you would like to read the column, it’s here: http://web.extension.illinois.edu/dmp/eb259/entry_8671/
Finally! Thanks for being the one to bring this all to light!
Many hybrid plants including turf grass return to there parent plants genes after a few years. Echinacea was the quickest return to original color that I have ever seen. We planted purple, orange, yellow and white echinacea and after 2nd year 90% purple. After splitting last year we had a few volunteer orange and yellow return but not the numbers that we planted. Good luck
Just a word of caution, buy from a reputable dealer, don't buy from some random person on ebay. I thought I was getting "Cheyenne Spirit" with different color flowers on one plant, but when it bloomed they are all pink! Nothing wrong with pink but it surely was a disappointment.
I have a well established crop of cone flower. I live in Missouri. If I cut them down after the first harvest of cut flowers will I get a second yield of blooms in the same season.
Echinacea (Coneflower) can give you a second showing in a fall. Pinching off deadheads isn’t necessary (as it would be needed for some plants such as black-eyed susans) but it does help keep the plant neat.
I have the most beautiful red coneflowers that are about 3 years old. Something is eating the petals leaving just the "ball" centers. The leaves look healthy but I can't figure out what's happening to my beautiful flowers. Can you advise? Thanks!
There are a few different pests that could be doing the damage. Common culprits are Japanese beetles, earwigs, and cucumber beetles, though you would normally expect petals and foliage to be left with holes or chunks missing, rather than be completely eaten. If your plants are low enough to the ground, the damage could be caused by rabbits, too. See our Pest Pages for more information. To really figure out what is eating your plants, you may have to do some detective work. Check the undersides of leaves and in the soil around the plants, and investigate at night to see if you can catch a bug in the act. Good luck!
When the flowers start to look old and scraggly, do I cut the entire leaf or pop them off the stem. Have read most of these comments. Thank you SO much for ALL of this knowledge. I learned I can plant my seeds off the flowers.Yeah!!!!!
Cut the flower off just above the nearest leaf node to encourage more blooms. You can save the flower head if you’d like to collect the seeds for planting. Note that coneflower seeds are a favorite food of goldfinches, so leaving a few blooms on the plant will not only result in automatic reseeding, but also very happy birds.