Echinacea, commonly called Coneflower, is a wildly popular flower available in a multitude of colors. Native to North American prairies and now bred to shine in the garden, Echinacea is easy to grow and blooms all summer long. Â
Ornamental plant breeders have developed countless cultivars of Echinacea in recent years, providing home gardeners with a wide selection of flower colors, shapes, and sizes to enjoy. Perfect for use in mass plantings, dotting through perennial beds, or for planting alongside shrubbery or grasses, Echinacea is a drought-tolerant and low-maintenance perennial that deserves a place in every garden!
How to Use Echinacea in the Garden
Echinacea plants work well layered tightly beside other plants in the garden, whether in a container, in an organized or natural landscape design, or in a mass planting.
Prairie-style gardens: Echinacea is quintessential for use in the new and incredibly popular landscape design style influenced by natural prairies.
Low-maintenance landscapes: Echinacea need very little care and are perfect for adding en masse into simple planting schemes without the need for attention from skilled gardeners.
Container all-star:Â Echinacea can tolerate tightly-packed containers and provide recurring perennial interest that works well in a range of container styles.
Companion Plants for Echinacea:
- Grasses like Pennisetum, Stipa, Deschampsia, and Fescue
- Perennials like Lavender, Agastache, Dianthus, and Helianthemum
- Shrubs like Cistus, Choisya, Nandina, and Escallonia
- Annuals like Snapdragons, Cosmos, Marigolds, and Zinnias
The Best Echinacea Varieties for Home Gardens
Echinacea ‘Sombrero’ Series: A new series introduced for more compact plants and profuse flowering; grows to 18-24″ tall and wide
- Echinacea ‘Sombrero Summer Solstice’: Brilliant yellow blooms have a softer yellow ring where they attach to an orange center
- Echinacea ‘Sombrero Salsa’: Bold, bright red flowers with delicately fringed petals and a reddish-brown center
- Echinacea ‘Sombrero Flamenco Orange’: Warm orange blooms with deep brown centers take on pink and yellow tones as they age
- Echinacea ‘Sombrero Sangrita’: Warm, deep orange flowers mature to rich red with dark orange centers
Echinacea ‘Kismet White’: Clear white petals surround yellow-green centers on this early and heavy-blooming variety; grows to 18″ tall by 18″ wide
Echinacea ‘Supreme Cantaloupe’: Peachy, soft-orange flowers are double and go through ever-changing, unique flower forms as the bloom matures; grows to 26-30″ tall by 16″ wide
Echinacea ‘Pow Wow Wild Berry’: Bright magenta blooms with orange centers make this member of the compact ‘Pow Wow’ series a garden standout; grows to 16-20″ tall by 16″ wide
Echinacea ‘Cheyenne Spirit’: Early blooming variety with sturdy stems produces a range of flower colors in sunset shades; grows to 24-30″ tall by 12-24″ wide
Echinacea ‘Magnus’: The classic Coneflower variety with large, mauve pink flowers; grows to 40″ tall by 18″ wide
How to Care for Echinacea
Full sun and good drainage: Echinacea thrives in full sun and slightly alkaline soil conditions, so it’s best to add lime when planting in acidic soils.
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.
Provide good drainage: Echinacea may be prone to root rot in poorly drained soils, so proper site selection is critical. 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.
Cold hardy and resilient: Cold hardy to Zone 3 or 4, Echinaceas are herbaceous perennials that die back in winter and emerge in the Spring. They bloom from mid-June through September with daisy-like flowers.
No fertilizer needed: Avoid over-fertilizing, which may cause weak, floppy growth—a light, yearly top dressing of compost should provide sufficient nutrition in average gardens.
Cutting flowers brings more blooms: Deadheading can encourage longer bloom time and cut flowers are long lasting and beautiful in bouquets.
Loved by pollinators, ignored by herbivores and pests: Pollinators like bees and butterflies, along with beneficial insects, are all attracted to Echinacea. Coneflowers are resistant to both deer and rabbits and are not bothered by insect pests.
Natural birdseed: 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 cut back in Spring before new growth begins.