The flower stalks don’t grow as tall, nor do all of the individual rosettes bloom up, but enough of them do, providing for pollinators and birds, and thrilling this gardener again with their perkiness. ![]() Once I trim off the spring growth and September rolls around with its shorter days, cooler nights and promises of more of the same, the Purple Coneflowers enjoy a second blooming cycle. Trust me when I say, at this point in my life, I have plenty of Coneflowers!! Originally, I kept the spent blooms so that seeds would develop and I’d have more Coneflowers for my gardens. I usually keep some of the “crispy” Cones around into autumn, just because I like the look of the dried flowers in the garden and to feed my feathered friends. Not only are Purple Coneflowers great for pollinators during bloom time, but the little seed eating birds find them yummy too. I usually take my pruning cue when a couple of events come into play: bloom stalks have flopped to the ground bloom stalks have developed a slight case of mildew and the foliage is wilting and unattractive resident and visiting finches have plenty of other seed sources from which to feed on. By mid-to-late July, I begin pruning the flower stalks down to the rosette. Truthfully, I rather like the “dried” form of the Coneflower–to a point. …and some sport petals that droop down like a botanical hula-dancer.Īs the summer months progress and Texas heat and dry weather pattern persists, Coneflowers’ color fades, the flowers coarsen, turn brown, and become “crispy”. Coneflowers morph into a paler color as they age.Īs well, some are typical daisy-ray flowers, I’ve noticed that there’s often a subtle color difference in each of the individual flowers, even when sharing the same rosette some are lighter, some are darker. They also make great cut flowers for arrangements, if you’re so inclined. These are attractive garden plants for months and they complement other shrubs and perennials, in color and form. One of the things I like most about the Purple Coneflower is that the individual blooms last a long time. Remember that it’s just fine and dandy to have a few holes in your leaves or petals it means that you’re lovely plants are feeding some sort of wildlife and that’s the way it’s supposed to be. Only a few of my Coneflowers have ever been damaged by insects. ![]() …but only rarely is there any damage to the flower, like this Cone with its neatly trimmed petals. Sometimes, even the “bad” bugs will hop on for a ride, Purple Coneflower is an excellent pollinator plant. Purple Coneflower plants, en masse, provide quite a show.Ī favorite of all kinds of bees and butterflies. New bloom stalks adorned with accompanying flowers continue to grow into early June. It always seems to take weeks for those first blooms to appear, but appear they do!īy mid-to-late April (in Central Texas) the Purple Coneflower is in its prime blooming season. In time, a bloom stalk shoots forward from the rosette, followed by others. Since Purple Coneflowers range from Texas through the mid-Atlantic states and even a bit north and westward, the timing and severity of freezes and the flush of blooming varies from what Coneflowers experience here in Austin.Īs spring approaches, new foliage emerges and the rosettes thicken. Sometimes after a particularly hard freeze, exposed greenery suffers and the whole foliage rosette dies to the ground they typically emerge in early spring, ready for a long blooming season. In my urban Austin garden, the foliage remains mostly evergreen through winter. If I don’t like where a plant grows, I transplant it or pass it along to another gardener. I like to plant in groups of three to seven, but I’m happy to let volunteers seed out where they may. Individual plants form rosettes from seed, and those rosettes grow larger with maturity.ĭuring winter, the rosettes are evergreen, or mostly so. In mild winters, Coneflowers bloom sporadically a hard freeze nips the flowers and sends the plant into dormancy. Though not quite as spectacular as in the spring show, there is usually a second flush of blooms during the autumn months. Here in Central Texas, the aster family flowers bloom during spring and summer, resting in the July and August dormant-hot season. ![]() Glorious in its spring beauty, this wide-spread North American native is a must-have for any garden. Are you interested in a long-blooming, tough-as-nails perennial that can withstand heat and drought, freeze and flood? Look no further than this gardener’s favorite, Purple Coneflower, Echinacea purpurea.
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