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What trendy bloom can look like a geek with a mullet or a wilted lavender daisy thirsting for a drink? Purple coneflower, of course!
These are the glory days of purple coneflower, also known by its scientific name, Echinacea purpurea. On the one hand, this old-fashioned, long-blooming wildflower has become a popular remedy for boosting the immune system in the form of teas, tinctures, and tablets. On the other, Echinacea is the subject of modern breeding programs around the country, resulting in trendy garden flowers ranging in color from traditional lavender pink, white, and rosy pink to yellow, salmon, orange, green, and red. Plant heights vary from 'Little Annie', a 10-inch pink dwarf, to wild specimens up to 6 feet tall, although most cultivars grow between 2 and 4 feet high.
Gardeners love this clump-forming native perennial because it attracts bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds and because of its unique appearance—it has drooping lavender pink rays set around a prickly, purplish brown floral cone. Purple coneflower originated in prairies, thickets, and open woods in the Midwestern and southeastern United States. In fact, Echinacea's name comes from echinos, the Greek word for hedgehog, referring to its spiny central disk.
In its native form, purple coneflower may look wilted at first glance. "People who don't know about plants say, 'Oh, that plant must need water because the petals are drooping down,' " says Leslie van Berkum, co-owner of Van Berkum Nursery, a wholesale business in Deerfield, New Hampshire. As a result, "many new cultivars have petals standing up." Yet van Berkum thinks that hybridizers sometimes push too far in their desire to change the original plant. "I think it jeopardizes the essence of the native plant in its wild state," she says.
Not only do breeders change flower color and plant size, they can also change the shape of the blooms. With Echinacea, that means turning downward petals into horizontal, daisy-like rays or, more drastically, transforming the central cone into a big mound of tiny petals surrounded by long pink rays. A popular pompom cultivar is bright purplish pink 'Razzmatazz', which resembles a head with a shaggy mullet. "It reminds me of a bad haircut," says Dana M. Sansom, associate professor of horticulture at the University of New Hampshire in Durham.
E. purpurea 'Magnus', however, is a classic cultivar that became the Perennial Plant Association's 1998 plant of the year. 'Magnus' has non-droopy, deep rosy pink flowers on 2- to 4-foot sturdy stems. 'Rubenstern' or Ruby Star is an improved version of 'Magnus' with rich carmine, horizontal petals around a central cone. At the odd end of the spectrum is E. purpurea 'Green Envy', which has a green-centered, blackish cone surrounded by petals that are lime green at the tips and pink near the base.
Echinacea produces flowers from roughly June through September atop sturdy stems that are good for cutting. When arranging a bouquet or centerpiece, consider using different cultivars of purple coneflower. For a casual bouquet, mix pink, orange, or yellow blooms with ornamental grasses and prairie flowers such as blazing star (Liatris) and black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia). White Echinacea cultivars such as 'Cygnet White' or 'White Swan' look elegant and harmonious when combined with green and white leaves and flowers, including variegated hosta and Hydrangea paniculata 'Little Lamb'.
While most folks grow Echinacea for its striking blooms, some grow these plants for the cones. "Many people use the naked cones in bouquets and dried arrangements," Sansom says. "To do that, harvest (the cones) for drying after the flowers have gone by. Remove the petals, and put the stems in a vase to dry or hang upside down in a cool dry place."
Incorporating Echinacea into your garden is easy, according to Sansom. "It depends on the size of the garden," she says. "In a small garden, one plant can be fine, but in medium to large gardens a minimum of three plants looks better. Try them massed next to grasses for a nice contrast of heights and textures." Sansom also says that the blue green leaves of Baptisia look attractive next to purple coneflowers. Other handsome companions include Big Ears lamb's ear (Stachys 'Big Ears') with its soft silvery leaves and few flowers, lemon yellow daylilies (Hemerocallis), and various sea hollies (Eryngium) with striking spiny flower bracts and lobed leaves.
"I designed a garden for my sister-in-law that you can see from the top of a slope," Sansom says. "I used 'Magnus' there so she could really see the flowers when she looked down on the garden."
Many of Van Berkum's clients want meadow gardens. "For that you need grasses and plants like Echinacea that take dry conditions, full sun, and well drained, not super rich soil. To me coneflowers are not pretty as specimen plants. I'd rather see them in an informal setting. Let them seed into well-drained soil. After they're rooted in, let them go."
When planting purple coneflower, choose a site with excellent drainage, since it will not abide wet feet. "It's a prairie wildflower," says van Berkum, who notes that these plants last longer when you meet their cultural requirements. "Water to root them in and let them dry out between waterings."
As for maintenance, Echinacea purpurea is relatively carefree. To propagate the species, sow seed or divide. Many hybrids are sterile or do not come true from seed, but you can divide them for personal use. Since hybrids may be fussy and hard to establish, pinch off their flower buds the first year for more branching and vigor at the base.
"Echinacea really needs full sun and no fertilizer besides the regular organic matter in the soil," Sansom says. "Giving it fertilizer can make the plant weak; then it may need staking. It may bloom a little longer if you deadhead old flowers, but it's not necessary. I like to see purple coneflowers go through their whole life cycle."
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