Echinacea, or coneflowers, are well know to gardeners. They're North American natives, but they've traveled widely. The name coneflower is readily explained by the way the petals sweep back and downward, forming a cone. The name Echinacea is from the Greek word for spiny, echino and is a reference to the pincushion center.
The reason these perennial flowers are so well known is because they grow so well and are so widely adaptable; drought tolerant, long blooming and very low maintenance.
Nothing intrigues a plant breeder more than playing with a plant that's loaded with great attributes. Sometimes this means sacrificing one attribute for the sake of another; color over fragrance, more blooms, less height. Sometimes it works out to everyone's benefit. That's seems to be the case with Echinacea. The new varieties showcased here are no longer purple, some aren't even cone-shaped. But they are all easy growing in glorious colors and many are fragrant. Take a look.
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- A Bi-Colored Coneflower that Blushes All SeasonEchinacea purpurea 'Green Envy'
- It Might Look Like a Daisy, But It Has All the Great Features of a Coneflower.Echinacea 'Fragrant Angel' - A Fragrant Coneflower
- A Coneflower Rebelling Against Its Parents or Just Having a Bad Hair Day?Echinacea 'Pink Double Delight' - Yes, it's a Coneflower
- I Want to See the Sky that Inspired this Echinacea.Echinacea 'Twilight' (Big Sky Series)
- A Buttery Lemon Plant to Make 'Moonbean' Coreopsis NervousEchinacea 'Sunrise' (Big Sky Series)
- Echinacea 'Sundown' Gives the Fire of the Evening Sky to Mid-Day.Echinacea 'Sundown' (Big Sky Series)
- The Color and Name Suggest Fall, but 'Harvest Moon' is a Summer Performer.Echinacea 'Harvest Moon' (Big Sky Series)
- One Last Burst of Color in the Big SkyEchinacea 'Sunset' (Big Sky Series)
- Graphic Index
- Text Index