Out
On A Limb / August 2007
Cone-iferous
 Fragran Angel
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Like a stunning lemon meringue or double chocolate brownie, the spectacularly showy flowers of early spring are an indulgence few gardeners try to resist. But, such confections pale quickly in the punishing heat of summer. Gardeners learn to appreciate the less spectacular, but more enduring, steadfastly blooming coneflower.
As constant and forgiving as a good friend, coneflowers are there, year after year, through drought, wind and heat, despite poor soils and inattention.
Coneflowers like it hot.
They like it sunny and dry and they’ll bloom from mid June into late summer or early fall, with an absolute minimum of fuss. The coneflower’s deep taproot permits them to thrive even under drought conditions.
A perennial wildflower found throughout the midwestern and southeastern US, coneflowers are members of the Aster family with large, daisy-like flowers that tend to droop or curve back and and have large, dark cone-like centers. These plants of the genus Echinacea are technically composed of two types of flowers. The colored or white petals are called ray flowers, and the center of the flower is composed of much smaller disk flowers that are fertile and can set seed. The flowers are arranged individually on sturdy, elongated stems, usually with lavender or purple petals surrounding an iridescent red-orange, coned center. The spiky central cone inspired the name “echinacea” which comes from “echinos”, the Greek word for hedgehog.
Four species are common in the US. Echinacea angustifolia is a narrow-leaf variety. Echinacea purpurea, Purple Coneflower, is an old fashioned prairie plant native to the western US. The whole plant, but specifically the roots, is regarded as a non-specific stimulant of the immunesystem, an anti-inflammatory and an aid in wound healing. Historically, Echinacea was an important medicinal plants used by North American Indians. Echinacea pallida, Pale Coneflower, is from the central US and was used by Native Americans medicinally for bites, stings, and burns. Echinacea paradoxa, Yellow Coneflower, is native specifically to the Ozark Mountains.
Echinacea purpurea were once expected to be purple or mauve-pink, with the occasional white cultivar. Traditional Echinaceas are still favorites, but new cultivars are available in shades of mango, magenta, orange, gold and an ever-growing range of colors.
Usually planted by seed to a depth of about 1/8 inch, coneflowers germinate within 15-30 days, and grow to 2-4 feet tall, re-blooming through the summer. With a vase life of 5-7 days, they’re perfect for cut flower arrangements.
Coneflowers are tolerant of most growing conditions and grow in dry, open woods as well as cultivated beds. They prefer loamy or sandy, well-drained soils of almost any pH and can tolerate shade, but grow best in full sun. They have very few disease or pest problems.
 Echinacea 'Doubledecker'
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Echinaceas are butterfly magnets in the garden and their seed heads are a favorite food of migrating birds. Although plants should be deadheaded for continual bloom, gardeners who leave blooms can enjoy feeding goldinches and overwintering birds.
Flower colors and characteristics vary according to the cultivar. ‘Fragrant Angel’, a new, deeply scented culivar with a yellow center and double rows of large, white petals reaches 36-40”. ‘Magnus’, the Perennial Plant Association’s award winner in 1998, has rosy-pink petals that are almost horizontal rather than backswept. ‘Sunrise’ has fragrant four-inch wide, lemon-yellow flowers on multi-branched flower stalks. ‘Twilight’ has brilliant rose-red flowers and the flowers of ‘Sundown’ bloom vibrant-orange. ‘Harvest Moon’ offers golden yellow petals surrounding a cone of golden-orange. ‘Doubledecker’ is a purple coneflower with unusual, two-tiered magenta blooms. ‘Summer Sky’, the first bicolor echinacea, has flowers up to 5 inches across. ‘Fancy Frills’ is like a fragrant, pink sunflower with multiple rows of shaggy petals. ‘Ruby Giant’ has 7 inch-wide, ruby blooms with recurved ray petals, dense foliage and a flattened, copper-orange cone.
Although they resent being moved, the tough little natives grow rapidly and adapt to a wide range of environments, self-sowing their seed profusely. They depend on insects, like bees, to transfer pollen between plants. Flower stems and most of the leaves die off during winter, but numerous short, lateral rhizomes are produced from the base of the stem. Each develops into more flowering stems in subsequent years of growth.
Echinacea plays well with others, combining especially well with other native plants like ornamental grasses, yarrow and butterfly weed. Cheerful and bright, trusty coneflowers are a mainstay in Mid Ohio Valley gardens. With just a little care, they form attractive colonies and stick by their friends, blooming beautifully through thick and thin, for years. PL
Copyright © 2007 A Woman's View. All rights reserved.
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