Echinacea is a wildly popular flower that blooms all Summer in stunning colors, flower shapes, and sizes.
Echinacea, commonly called Coneflower, is a low-maintenance and drought-tolerant perennial that will return year after year and and grow in width over time with little care. Pollinators adore the daisy-like blooms that provide nectar and pollen to bees and butterflies alike. Echinacea can be used in the garden in a number of ways, including in mass plantings, dotted through existing perennial beds with grasses and other flowers, or in container gardens.
Native to North American prairies and now bred to shine in the garden, Echinacea is an easy-to-grow perennial that blooms all Summer long!
How to Use Echinacea in Garden Design
Echinacea is a versatile perennial that works well in many different settings and garden design styles, including modern meadows, low-maintenance, drought-tolerant landscapes, and even in mixed container garden plantings. Echinacea has strong, deep roots that allow it to perform well when layered tightly beside other plants in the garden.
1. Prairie-style gardens: Echinacea is a quintessential flower for use in modern meadow landscape design styles influenced by natural prairies, including Bohemian gardens which embrace loose, layered planting, seasonal blooms, and a naturalistic, free-spirited aesthetic. Learn more about designing Bohemian-style gardens with Echinacea through our blog or in our FREE Bohemian Landscape Design Guide.
2. Low-maintenance landscapes: Echinacea needs very little care and is perfect for adding en masse into simple planting schemes without the need for attention from skilled gardeners. Because of their easy care and ability to thrive with very little water, we’ve featured them in our 7 Best Drought-Tolerant Plants List as a top pick for beauty and resilience in low-water landscapes.
3. Container garden all-star: Echinacea can tolerate tightly-packed containers and provide recurring perennial interest that works well in a range of container styles. Because it is available in a wide range of colors and with tall or dwarf varieties, it is perfect for use in virtually any Summer container garden scheme.
Companion Plants for Echinacea
1. Plant Echinacea in mixed, Bohemian garden plantings with Ornamental Grasses like Pennisetum, Panicum, Stipa, Deschampsia, and Fescue. SHOP GRASSES
2. Echinacea performs very well when paired with other sun-loving, drought-tolerant perennials like Lavender, Agastache, Scabiosa, Gaura, and Helianthemum. SHOP SUN PERENNIALS
3. Echinacea makes an eye-catching, Summer-blooming addition to plantings of Evergreen Sun Shrubs like Cistus, Choisya, Pittosporum, Abelia, and Escallonia. SHOP EVERGREEN SUN SHRUBS
4. Echinacea is well-complemented by Sun Annuals like Snapdragons, Cosmos, Marigolds, and Zinnias, especially when the Echinacea plants are young and are still filling in. SHOP SUN ANNUALS
Our Favorite Echinacea Plants by Color
WHITE:
- Standard – White Swan
- Dwarf – Kismet White
- Double – Delicious Nougat
GREEN:
- Standard – Green Jewel, Alan’s Pride
- Double – SunSeekers Apple Green
YELLOW:
- Standard – Aloha
- Dwarf – Prima Saffron
- Double – Cara Mia Yellow, Sunny Days Lemon
ORANGE:
- Standard – Tangerine Dream, Flame Thrower
- Dwarf – Sombrero Adobe Orange
- Double – SunSeekers Mineola
PEACH/CORAL:
- Standard – Prima Ginger
- Dwarf – Sombrero Hot Coral
- Double – Fresco Apricot, Cara Mia Coral
PINK/PURPLE:
- Standard – Magnus, Merlot, Kim’s Knee High
- Dwarf – Sombrero Rosada
- Double – Double Scoop Watermelon
RED:
- Standard – Solar Flare
- Dwarf – Sombrero Salsa Red, Kismet Red
- Double – Sunny Days Ruby
MULTICOLOR:
- Standard – Sweet Sandia, Cheyenne Spirit
- Dwarf – Kismet Pink Lemonade
- Double – SunSeekers Rainbow
Care Tips for Growing Echinacea
Cold hardy to Zone 3 or 4, Echinaceas are resilient herbaceous perennials that die back all the way to the ground in Winter and re-emerge in the Spring. Not only are they loved by pollinators including bees and butterflies, they are resistant to both deer and rabbits and are not bothered by insect pests! Follow the simple care tips below for gorgeous blooms from mid-June through September.
1. Plant in full sun and well-draining soil: Echinacea thrives in full sun and slightly alkaline soil conditions (add lime when planting in acidic soils). Echinacea may be prone to root rot in poorly drained soils, so proper site selection is critical.
NOTE: If heavy, clay soil is an obstacle to planting in the ground, Echinacea make fantastic container plants and can be grown in pots for years!
2. Water at first, then do less: Echinacea plants are drought tolerant once they are established, but new plantings will benefit from regular watering for at least the first year.
3. No need to fertilize: Avoid over-fertilizing, which may cause weak, floppy growth—a light, yearly top dressing of compost should provide sufficient nutrition in average gardens.
4. Cut flowers regularly to bring more blooms: Deadheading or cutting the blooms at their peak will encourage a longer bloom time. As a cut flower, Echincea is long-lasting and beautiful as a floral or architectural accent in bouquets and is listed as one of our 7 Best Cut Flowers for Long-Season Blooms!
5. Leave the seeds for birds: As flowers fade, the dried seeds act as food for many types of birds. Allow plants to remain through Winter to keep seed heads in place for birds and wait to cut back until Spring as new growth begins.
With so many stunning Echinacea varieties in stock at our Garden Centers, come visit and see which one strikes your fancy—there’s sure to be a perfect match for your garden!