Garden Plants

Echinacea for beauty and nature

By Julie Hollobone

These wonderful cone flowers are at their peak in August and are much loved by bees and butterflies

These wonderful late flowerers are well known for their health-giving properties; with their structural daisy-like flowers, they look great in the border – and the bees and butterflies love them too

Echinacea purpurea Elton Knight 'Elbrook'

'Echinaceas enjoy a well-drained soil rich in organic matter, but dislike winter wet. If this is a problem, try growing some forms as annuals from seed sown in early February for flowering in the same year.'

Gardeners have been going mad for echinaceas recently, and bees and butterflies also find the bold, often honey-scented flowers very attractive. The green, slightly hairy foliage sits low to the ground, and the stiff upright stems support large, solitary flowerheads consisting of a prominent, cone-shaped disc of florets, interspersed with stiff yellow-to-brown, spine-like scales that give the cone its colour and prickly appearance.

The ray florets surrounding the cone are usually in shades of purplish pink to reddish purple, but can be white or yellow. Often they are held stiffly, but in some, like E. ‘Arts Pride’ (a pale-orange form), they hang down lazily. Although they often start flowering in July, with deadheading larger clumps go on into September when the remaining heads can be left for seed.

Growing as annuals

Echinacea purpurea 'Pink Parasol'

Echinaceas enjoy a well-drained soil rich in organic matter, but dislike winter wet. If this is a problem, try growing some forms as annuals from seed sown in early February for flowering in the same year. Try E. purpurea ‘White Swan’ – a pure-white form with downswept petals around a central cone. The purple E. 'Magnus' also does well.

Growing as perennials

Three popular forms of Echinacea purpurea to grow as perennials include ‘Ruby Giant’ with purple-red flowers up to 85cm (30in) and the shorter ‘Rubinglow’ at a more compact 55cm (22in) – both may flower into October. For a pure pink flower try ‘Kim’s Knee High’, another short plant, but not to be confused with ‘Kims Mop Head’ which has white flowers. Echinacea paradoxa is a yellow-flowered species and one parent of ‘Sunrise’, a form with yellow petals around a greenish-yellow cone.

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