Known more as a medicinal herb, and by its Latin name, coneflower or Echinacea, is a delightful prairie wildflower that works just as well in refined home gardens. It blooms in summer and again in autumn, although autumn bloom can be inhibited if plants are not groomed of deteriorating stems from the previous bloom. Like related gaillardia and rudbeckia, coneflower is a nice cut flower.
Flowers start out like any other daisy flower, but then fold back with the long ray florets hanging downward around the more rigid centers of darkly colored disc florets, forming cones. Flowers can stand almost three feet high, mostly on unbranched stems. Many popular varieties stay lower. Leaves and stems are somewhat hairy or raspy. Old varieties were mostly purple or lavender. Newer varieties can be orange, yellow, red, pink, white or green. Big plants can be divided after autumn bloom, or in spring.
Tony Tomeo 
I love them. There are some gorgeous colours introduced every year, but unfortunately the new hybrids have no staying power.
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Really? I did not know that. I do not grow them because the black-eyed Susan does so well that I never bothered with any other daisy like flowers. Besides, they look sort of wilted to me, with their petals folded back.
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I planted a variety called ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ a few years ago in my garden. The colors change every year. I love the surprise!
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What? Are they reverting from the variety back to their natural colors like nasturtiums do?, or do they just modify their color according to the weather, like the autumn color of sweetgums?
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They are trust-able perennials in our winters in PA.
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They were a fad here a while back, but like other fads, they seemed to go away. We do not do that prairie style much. Coneflower really seems to be more popular everywhere else, including places away from where prairie landscapes are popular.
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one of my favourites here too! Lots of new colors available, this year I planted a bright red one, last year orange. With the cool wet summer we had mine bloomed all summer, from June to October
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As much as I like white, I think that coneflower really excels with the autumn colors like orange and red. I think the pale yellow looks unfinished.
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From what I understand, this hybrid just decides to change. I’ve had them 3 years now. Sometimes they are all light yellow and the next year oranges/reds. I’m not sure how the magic works 😉
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Well, sometimes it is more fun to not know. I know how my Jewels Mix nasturtiums will revert to orange and yellow, and it sort of takes the fun out of it. I would be surprised if there were more reds or soft colors . . . or white or blue or something else that nasturtiums do not do!
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Beautiful photo. I am trying a few cuttings this year, as I didn’t have much success with seeds! Any clues?
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Well, no. I am sorry. I do not grow them from seed. They are somewhat easy to grow from division, so I never had a need to grow them from seed. However, the last bunch that I divided got mown and pulled out by a ‘gardener’ later when I was not there.
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Tragic! I’ll have to try dividing them. I think my friend grows them!
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They are an old favorite but I can’t grow them because they are so susceptible to aster yellows in my garden. Not crazy about the newer cultivars in odd colors.
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That is funny. I do not like them as much either.
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