Echinacea (Coneflowers): Species, Hybrids, and Garden Uses

Tough, colorful perennials from central and eastern North America. Daisy-like flowers with narrow, arching rays surround brownish-orange, dome-shaped centers on straight stems above bristly foliage clumps. Often lightly fragrant. Long summer bloom (spring in mild winters), continuing until frost.

Use on garden edges or in wide borders with other robust perennials; excellent in containers. Rarely need staking. Handle summer heat well (except hottest deserts, where they're spring bloomers). Good cut flowers.

Clumps spread slowly, crowding after 3-4 years. Fleshy rootstocks are tricky to divide—ensure each division has a shoot and roots. Also increase by root cuttings, seeding, or transplanting self-sown seedlings.

Species and Notable Hybrids

Echinacea angustifolia

Central N.A. native. 3-4 ft. high, 2 ft. wide. 2-in. flowers with pink to rosy-purple drooping rays from purple-brown cone. Narrow, bristly leaves to 6 in.

Echinacea Hybrids (Complex Crosses)

• 'Green Envy': fragrant lime-green blooms aging to magenta-purple near cone; green cone fades to purple. 2-3 ft.
• 'Tomato Soup': bright red 6-in. flowers on 2-ft. plants.
• 'Tiki Torch': bright orange to rose blooms on 2-2½ ft. plants.

Big Sky Series

2-3 ft. high, 2 ft. wide. 'Sunrise' (butter yellow), 'Sunset' (bright orange), 'Sundown'/'Evan Saul' (reddish orange).

Meadowbright Series

1½-3 ft. tall and wide. 'Mango Meadowbrite' (orange-yellow petals, orange-brown centers), 'Orange Meadowbrite'/'Art's Pride' (reddish orange), 'Pixie Meadowbrite' (~1½ ft., pink non-drooping petals, yellow-brown center).

Echinacea pallida

Eastern N.A. native. 3-5 ft. high, 2 ft. wide. Erect with narrow lance-shaped leaves. Mauve-pink, slender drooping rays in late summer-fall.

Echinacea paradoxa

Ozarks native. 2-3 ft. high, 2 ft. wide. Drooping yellow to orange-yellow rays around brown cone. 2-in. flowers. Smooth lance-shaped leaves to 8 in.

Echinacea purpurea

Bristly oblong 3-4 in. leaves form 2-ft. wide clump. Sparsely leafed 3-4 ft. stems. Showy 4-in. flowers with drooping rosy-purple rays and orange-brown beehive cone. Seed heads persist into winter; finches love seeds. Many fine varieties available.

'Pink Poodle'

Fully double pink flowers resembling zinnias.