As September arrives, my purple coneflowers are still in full bloom after having been flowering since late July.
This hardy perennial, Echinacea purpurea, is one of the most dependable perennials in my garden and a plant that provides an extended period of bloom.
Unless I cut them for use in dried flower arrangements, I leave the seedheads on the plants because they add interest to the winter garden. The large raised cones of purple coneflower are the feature of the plant.
Echinos, in Greek, means hedgehog and the spiky cones of echinacea resemble hedgehogs.
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Purple coneflowers are easy to grow. They have a deep fibrous root system, making them drought tolerant and able to draw nutrients from deep in the soil.
I try to give my coneflowers water during hot dry spells and find they are most vigorous and strong stemmed when grown in full sun. I have E. purpurea Magnus, which is an old variety that produces dusty rose pink single flowers whose ray petals are somewhat drooping in appearance.
As the buds appear and open, the petals are horizontal, but as the flowers age, the petals begin to droop. The stems are strong and wiry and rarely need support.
Magnus can be grown from seed and my plants often self-seed. Plant breeders are developing new varieties of echinacea, but seed for most of these varieties is not available, only plants.
I prefer Magnus, but there are interesting new varieties, including E. purpurea Razzmatazz. It is similar in colour to Magnus, but Razzmatazz is fully double.
An outer ring of short single petals surrounds a cushion of fine petals in the centre of each bloom and there is no cone. Another double variety is Double Delight.
Hybridizers have developed odd new varieties such as Double Decker, with what appears to be one single pink bloom sitting on top of another.
White echinacea is effective in the landscape and probably the best known is White Swan, a single variety, but there is a double one called Coconut Lime, whose blooms are like the Razzmatazz ones.
An outer ring of white petals surrounds a central pom-pom of pale green florets, although the centre of the pom-pom has the telltale orange colour of the older coneflower varieties.
Many newer varieties of purple coneflower are fragrant. Sundown, an orange variety, Sunrise, a yellow version, and Twilight, a rose-pink cultivar, share this characteristic with Coconut Lime. This is one advantage the newer echinacea varieties have over Magnus.
As you perform fall clean-up tasks and rearrange your perennial borders, see if you can include echinacea plants in your plan.
If you are like me and only have Magnus, perhaps you will add one of the newer versions of this dependable, long blooming perennial to your landscaping.
Albert Parsons has a diploma in horticulture from Guelph University. He operates a garden design/landscape consultation business from his home in Minnedosa, Man. Contact: countrygarden@producer.com.
