![]() Plant of the Season sponsored by the Trinity Forks Native Plant Society Chapter in Denton County. Thank you for using native plants in your landscapes. Lastly, look for NICE Plant of the Season signs and information sheets on your next visit to a participating North Texas nursery. Companion plants for Purple Coneflower include Mealy Blue Sage ( Salvia farinacea), Black-eyed Susan ( Rudbeckia hirta), and Little Bluestem ( Schizachyrium scoparium). Various parts of Purple Coneflower are used as herbal medicine, but please don’t count on NICE for medical advice! Consider using instead of exotic Gerbera Daisy ( Gerbera jamesonii) or African Daisies (Osteospermum) species. The cut flowers are long-lasting in bouquets. Purple Coneflower attracts butterflies as well as native bees and its seed in the dried flowerheads feeds fall and winter birds. In addition, it may be propagated by cuttings and will self-seed, if the spent flowers are not removed. This is important for propagating the cultivars, because they will not breed true from seed. The plants will grow in size each year and may be divided every 4-5 years by digging up the clump, lifting it out of the ground, and breaking it apart by hand. Purple Coneflower is great in border, meadow, prairie, cutting, and native plant gardens, as well as woodland gardens in part-sun. Similarly, it needs good drainage, like many other native Texas plants. Watering Instructions:ĭuring long dry spells, Purple Coneflower may appreciate supplemental water if planted in full sun. ![]() Purple Coneflower thrives in part shade to sun and a range of soil types. Furthermore, numerous cultivars are now available in nurseries, in different heights, with petal colors ranging from white to deep orange to deep red, and with different colored flower cones. The cone may be flattened and is prickly. Each flower has 10-20 pink to lavender ray florets surrounding a central yellowish- to reddish-brown cone of numerous disk florets. The showy flowers span 2.5-5 inches across. Its daisy-like flowers are held high on top of its stems. Purple Coneflower blooms in late May and intermittently through the end of summer in North Texas. Coneflower describes the flower’s center shape. Echinacea comes from the Greek echinos, meaning spiny or prickly, while purpurea refers to the petal color of wild Purple Coneflower. Purple Coneflower’s common and genus names reflect its flower characteristics. Most importantly, it is drought, heat, and poor soil tolerant. Its dark green, hairy-rough, alternate or opposite leaves are up to 6” long and 3” wide, and are smaller at the top of the stems. It grows about 1-2 feet wide and 2-4 feet tall in bloom. Or come to the garden center at 2991 Goldfinch Road, Hiawatha, KS or in Nebraska City, NE.Purple Coneflower is an herbaceous perennial in the sunflower family. You can buy these or the straight species from us. The best cultivars of purple coneflowers for you garden are from the Sombrero Series. You can also use both fresh and dried flowers in arrangements. In autumn and winter, the dried seedheads are eaten by goldfinches and other birds. Most coneflowers grow 2 to 4 feet tall and 1 to 2 feet wide. Light Exposure: Partial Sun to Full Sun (At Least 5 Hours of Direct Sunlight) Mature Height: 2 - 3 Feet. They also can get powdery mildews and leaf spots in wet summers. Some checkerspot butterflies and moths use them as host plants. The flowers are light pink to lavender in color.Ĭoneflowers have only a few pest to mention. They are attractive bloomers from May to September, and I see lots of bees and butterflies on them. I like to use purple coneflower in mass plantings in my perennial sun beds. You can plant them in all sorts of environments and soils, except full shade and standing water. There is nearly every color of the rainbow, thanks in part to breeding efforts. Coneflowers are one of the most well-known and widely planted perennials in U.S.
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