What’s New With Coneflowers?

Our expert weeds through a ton of recent introductions to help you select the best of the bunch

I think many gardener oscillate between have it away and hating coneflowers — I know I do . It ’s a phenomenon I ’ve observed for nearly 20 years . I was there at the turn of the millennium when the humble coneflower had its breakout bit as Orange Meadowbrite ® , the first orange - flowered selection , was introduce by the Chicago Botanic Garden . The excitement for the veritable rainbow of semblance and whimsical double - flower forms that follow was contagious and set off a coneflower craze that most of us got beguile up in .

Coneflowers at a glance

Name : Echinaceaspp . and cvs .

Zones:3–9

Conditions : Full sunlight ; variable dirt conditions base on species

aboriginal range : Moist prairies , meadows , and open wood of the central to southeastern United States

Pests / diseases : Aster yellows , crown rot , stem wilt , Japanese beetle , and eriophyid mites

Unfortunately , a few too many misfires or outright duds over the years irritated gardeners , prompt a backlash against coneflowers . Without a doubt , the first colorful hybrids were singular though sometimes flawed introduction , but I believe that later breeding is far superscript to much of the early clobber . With that in mind , this coneflower tribulation take a aspect at newer introductions to this genus — measure them against the gold standards we ’ve fall to know and love from our first coneflower trial run in the 1990s . Hopefully our finding will encourage gardeners , especially disillusioned one , to take a fresh look at coneflowers . The follow coneflowers are not necessarily brand name - new , nor did they arrive at nurseries within the retiring twelvemonth . They are Modern , or at least lesser - have it away , coneflower that deserve a second — or even first — look .

Pixie Meadowbrite ® (Echinacea‘CBG Cone2 ’ ) came along a few years into the coneflower craze , and honestly , it did n’t get enough care because it was n’t orangish , red , or yellow . The pixy - sized brilliant pink flower are charming and bountiful , crowning compact works for most of the summer . What Pixie Meadowbrite ® lacks in height — it ’s just under 2 feet marvellous — it makes up for in staying major power . Along with its slightly upturned re florets and hirsute leaves and stem , it gets seniority from the long - lived Tennessee coneflower . Chicago Botanic Garden ’s Jim Ault bred and selected Pixie Meadowbrite ® from a complex cross betweenE. purpurea , E. tennesseensis , andE. laevigata . This three - way hybrid blend all the good aspects of each parent .

It ’s in all likelihood good to say that double coneflower are not for everyone . The floral computer architecture is too finicky or affected for some , while those keen on pollinator do n’t much care for them . I get it — my love is conditional too . ‘ Milkshake ’ receive top grade for its habit as much as its dual flower , which open up greenish and turn creamy livid to white . The flowers have a nappy form — cones are transformed into chrysanthemum - like pom - pom skirt by a run-in of drooping rays . White flowers tend to show all their mar quickly and more obviously than other color , but ‘ shake ’ take care novel for a foresightful clip . It also has the sturdiest stems of any coneflower I ’ve grow . The substantiation of its corpulence was keep when a storm with 60 mph winds raged through the trials . I watched from my windowpane as strong winds push everything sideways except for ‘ Milkshake ’ , which dock back and forth but did n’t deform .

Not every top - rank plant life makes my list of favourite . However,‘Firebird’made the cut its first summer , and in late year it has never go bad to impress me or give me pause to reconsider . passel of smoldering red - orange bird hover graciously over the plant like a flock of birds taking flying . Many hybrid coneflowers show their roots as the flowers evanesce to shades of purpleness — often with not - so - pretty resultant role — but ‘ Firebird ’ exceed from its igneous color to a pleasing scarlet purple . ‘ Firebird ’ is what I always wished Orange Meadowbrite ® (E. ‘ Art ’s Pride ’ ) had been — namely , a arrant compounding of beautifully brilliant flowers with a vigorous substantial - stemmed plant .

Coneflower quirks

We ’ve check a few things about coneflowers since our first trial in the mid-1990s , and they may help excuse why you have — or haven’t — been successful in grow these plant in the past tense .

Conditions can vary greatly

Not every coneflower has the same cultural needs , so loan-blend between metal money might be more finicky about where they will grow , which influences longevity too . Purple coneflower , for example , like consistently moist soil , whereas yellow coneflower ( E. paradoxa , veracious ) choose it desiccant .

Variable traits can occur

Many popular cultivars , such as ‘ Magnus ’ ( E. purpurea‘Magnus ’ ) and Ruby Star ( E. purpurea‘Rubinstern ’ ) , are seed - grown — not clones — so traits will vary among single plant .

Longevity can be an issue

violet coneflower ( E. purpurea ) is unawares - lived — two or three years is distinctive — and it reseed readily . Since it ’s a parent of most hybrid , discovering that prized other - colored coneflowers are suddenly purple is possible , even inevitable . Reverting to the species is not the perpetrator ; rather , seedlings have replaced the original industrial plant as they died out .

Cross-pollination is common

Coneflowers are light . Two or more eccentric nearby in the landscape painting may produce seedlings in a variety of flower colors and plant habits .

Fragrance can be a plus

Surprisingly ( to me anyway ) , new hybrids of many coneflower are often sweet odoriferous , such as ‘ Tiki Torch ’ ( E.‘Tiki Torch ’ , right ) .

I carry red flowers onSombrero ® Salsa Red(E. ‘ Balsomsed ’ ) , but the vibrancy of the scarlet - bolshy rays was like a sultry dream come straight . Starkly white underside , which are most obtrusive as the ray of light unfurl , were also a surprise . The 3 - inch flowers with slimly droopy rays are perfectly sized for the well - fork , compact flora . heyday coloring as it evanesce is something we watch carefully on all coneflower ; some of the earliest orange and red cultivar often faded to a ghastly washed - out pinko . Sombrero ® Salsa Red dulled to a less vivid red yet remained colorful and attractive longer than many other coneflowers . Burgundy - red stems heighten the show .

The difference between most purple coneflowers and‘Glowing Dream’is like that moment whenThe Wizard of Ozgoes from black and white to full color . The Citrullus vulgaris - pink ray are of a singular form , nearly fluorescent color — large redness to orange cone cell turn up the loudness further . This is one flower to see in individual ; the true intensity of its iridescence is difficult to bewitch on camera . Even the faded flowers were beautiful , with the color dialed down just a notch or two . Stout and well - rounded , ‘ Glowing Dream ’ has a Munchkin - like habit with purple stalk .

For about 15 geezerhood , I ’ve been recommending‘Pica Bella’to gardeners who trust a reliable , traditional - look purple coneflower . Whereas some imperial cultivars are undependable , ‘ Pica Bella ’ is a consistently strong , long - lived coneflower with an abundance of quirky efflorescence from late spring to fall . Deep pink ray florets and orangish cones may sound platitude , but the upcurled rays organise a canoe cast , which gives the large flowers a pointy starlike feeling . ‘ Pica Bella ’ has a robust vertical habit too , with sturdy purple radical .

‘ pull the wool over someone’s eyes Cone’is a stocky , almost diminutive coneflower . In the wafture of all the astonishing bloom colors , white coneflower incline to be overlooked . ‘ Snow Cone ’ stands out for its distinctive chartreuse cones encircled by more or less drooping ashen rays . ‘ Snow Cone ’ earned my admiration in and out of flower , and it was always among the top - rated coneflower and a visitant favorite . For a small plant , it never skimped on flowers or charm .

The upturned pink rays ofTennessee coneflower(E. tennesseensis ) are unequalled among its kin . The bloom tilt slenderly toward the east , which may seem like an unnoticeable point until you ’re see at their backsides ! The hirsute leave and stanch give the entire plant a lighter green show than that of other coneflowers . My original plants , set in 1989 , remained in shoes for almost 20 old age — that ’s a lifespan most 10 times longer than that of majestic coneflower ( E. purpurea ) . Since it ’s grown from seed and is just as promiscuous as the rest , it ’s not rare to find hybrid plants masquerade as Tennessee coneflower at the glasshouse ; look for the telltale upward rays and haired leaf to be certain .

Trial parameters

The Chicago Botanic Garden is presently evaluating nearly 50 different coneflower in comparative trials that started in 2019 ( early issue can be seen inNew Kids on the Coneflower Corner ) . Since 1995 , though , over 100 coneflowers have been evaluated in two separate trials .

Richard Hawke is plant evaluation manager at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe , Illinois .

Photos , except where take down : Danielle Sherry

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coneflowers

1. ‘Sunbird’ 2. Sombrero® Salsa Red 3. Double Scoop™ Bubble Gum 4. ‘Orange Passion’ 5. Sombrero® Sangrita 6. Kismet® Yellow 7. ’Snow Cone’ 8. ‘Pica Bella’ 9. Sombrero® Hot Coral 10. ‘Santa Fe’Photo: courtesy of Richard Hawke

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