So You Think You Know Everything About Purple Coneflowers?
Friday March 2, 2007
Remember the Purple Coneflower? It’s a rugged prairie native that came to prominence in the early days of the perennial gardening renaissance. Every garden had a clump, because they grew so easily and bloomed so long. Well good news. They still grow easily and bloom all summer, but now you can get them in a myriad of colors from pastels to too hot to handle. And they smell good too. Keep an eye out for these eight new Echinacea hybrids that are getting so much good word of mouth. These ain’t your father’s Purple Coneflower. Photo of E. 'Pink Double Delight' courtesy of Garden Splendor.
Comments
I’ve bought different kinds of deep dark colored ones but they loose their color and turn just a light pink. Is it my soil? They are in shade in the am and sun from 11am – 6pm.
All the coneflowers fade a bit as they age, but light pink must be disappointing. I’ve never heard that they’re affected by pH, like hydrangeas, so I don’t think it’s your soil.
If the new flowers open in the darker tones and fade as they age, it’s probably just their habit. The only way around it is to keep them well fed, especially with phosphorous, and deadhead often so you’re constantly getting new blooms.
I would guess that certain varieties will hold their color better than others. But that will always depend on growing conditions and stabilizing the hybrids.
These double pink delights/razzmatazz coneflowers came up VOLUNTARILY in my yard this year!! About 20 feet away from where my perennial coneflowers grow, and right in the middle of my perennial zinnias! so I assumed they were a cross between those two flowers somehow… I am trying to find out more about how this happened… there were no plantings done in that bed for the past couple years. They just happened! I live in North Texas. Love to know if this has happened to anyone else.
That’s fascinating. I think double pink delights/razzmatazz are highly hybridized and it seems bizarre that they should appear from a cross pollination in your garden, but what a great surprise! I hope they stick around.