Ornamental · Asteraceae
Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
Give it full sun and lean, well-drained soil, and purple coneflower blooms from early summer into fall.
Full sun
Every 7–14 days
USDA 3–8
2–4 ft · 0.6–1.2 m
Overview
Purple coneflower is a tough, sun-loving perennial from the daisy family, native to the prairies and open woods of eastern North America. It throws up sturdy stems topped with rosy-purple petals that ring a raised, bristly cone, and it returns bigger each year. Hardy through USDA zones 3 to 8, it shrugs off cold winters and hot, dry summers alike.
Few flowers pull their weight like this one. The blooms run from early summer well into fall, drawing bees and butterflies all season, and the spent cones feed finches through winter if you leave them standing. It also has a long history as the herb echinacea, taken as a supplement for generations.
Easy is the word for it. Coneflower asks for full sun and soil that drains, then mostly takes care of itself, handling drought and poor ground that would sink fussier perennials. Give it room to breathe and it rewards you for years with almost no fuss.
Care
The short version: full sun and lean, well-drained soil, with water only every week or two once the plant is established. It tolerates clay, sand, and drought, needs little feeding, and comes back stronger each year.
Light
Coneflower wants full sun, at least six hours of direct light a day, to bloom its best and stand up straight. It will take partial shade, but plants grown in too much shade stretch, flop, and flower less.
Water
Once it's settled in, coneflower is drought tolerant and only needs water every 7 to 14 days, leaning toward dry to medium moisture. Water at the base rather than overhead, since wet foliage invites leaf disease.
Soil
It grows in average, well-drained loam and adapts happily to clay, sand, and rocky ground. A wide pH of 6.0 to 8.0 suits it, so the one thing it won't forgive is soil that stays soggy.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor air is all it needs, so there's no humidity target to hit. Good airflow counts for more, since crowded, damp foliage is what lets powdery mildew get going.
Feeding
Coneflower has low feeding needs and does fine in lean soil. A light slow-release feed such as 12-6-6 in early spring is plenty, and heavy fertilizer only grows floppy stems at the expense of flowers.
Pruning
Deadhead spent blooms to tidy the plant and stretch the flowering, though it reblooms without your help. Leave some seed heads standing into winter to feed the birds and let it self-sow, and cut the stems back in late fall or leave them as shelter for native bees.
Size & spacing
Plants reach 2 to 4 feet (60 to 120 cm) tall in bloom. Give each one 12 to 24 inches (30 to 60 cm) of room so air moves through and mildew stays away.
When to plant
Coneflower runs on the rhythm of a northern season. Start seed indoors in late winter, set young plants out after the last spring frost, and the flowers open from early summer and carry on into fall.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: Sow indoors at 65 to 70°F about 8 to 10 weeks before last frost; germinates in 10 to 20 days.
- Plant: Transplant outdoors after the last spring frost.
- Harvest: Blooms early summer through mid-fall, peaking June through August.
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 3–8
Temperature: down to -40°C
Troubleshooting
Most coneflower trouble shows up on the flowers or the leaves, and a healthy stand rarely sees much of it. Learn to read the early signs below and you can act before a problem spreads through the bed.
Petals turning green with leafy tufts on the cone
This is aster yellows, a phytoplasma that leafhoppers carry from plant to plant. The disease is systemic and never resolves, so once a plant shows greened petals and witches-broom tufts it cannot be saved. Dig it up, bag it for the trash rather than the compost, and keep leafhoppers and weedy hosts in check nearby.
Fix:
- Promptly dig up and remove infected plants
- Bag and discard them in the trash, not compost
- Control leafhoppers and weedy hosts nearby
Foliage chewed to lace in midsummer
Japanese beetles are the usual culprit, clustering on leaves and blooms and chewing them down to the veins. Pick them off into a pail of soapy water first thing in the morning when they are sluggish, and treat light outbreaks with insecticidal soap. Scouting early in summer lets you knock the numbers back before they build.
Fix:
- Hand-pick beetles into soapy water in early morning
- Treat with insecticidal soap for light infestations
Distorted, tufted blooms with a rosetted cone
When flower heads come in twisted and rosetted, the cause is usually eriophyid mites feeding hidden inside the developing buds. The mites are too small to spot, so the warped blooms are your signal. Cut off and dispose of the affected heads in fall to clear out the mites before they overwinter.
Fix:
- Cut back and remove affected flower heads in fall
White powdery film coating the leaves
A dusty white-to-gray coating on the upper leaves in humid weather points to powdery mildew, and it takes hold fastest where plants are packed too close. Give each plant more room so air moves freely, and keep the foliage dry by watering at the base. It looks rough but rarely does lasting harm.
Fix:
- Improve spacing and air circulation
- Avoid overhead watering
Toxicity
Good news for a pet-friendly garden: purple coneflower is non-toxic across the board. It doesn't appear on the ASPCA toxic plant list, it's safe around cats, dogs, horses, and livestock, and people have taken it as the herb echinacea for generations. Plant it freely where animals roam.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
Purple coneflower is not on the ASPCA toxic list, so a curious cat that nibbles a leaf has nothing to fear from it.
Dogs None
Dogs can sniff, chew, or dig around the plant without any risk of poisoning.
Horses Safe
Horses grazing near a stand of coneflowers face no toxic threat from the foliage or flowers.
Rabbits Safe
The leaves and stems are harmless to rabbits, though they may simply eat the plant down to the ground.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep can browse coneflower without ill effect, as it carries no known toxin.
Birds Safe
Birds are welcome here. Finches in particular flock to the dried seed heads through fall and winter.
People Safe
People have long used echinacea as an herbal supplement, and the plant is regarded as non-toxic.
Varieties
Plenty of named coneflowers exist, from the old purple standbys to bright modern color mixes. These few are the ones you'll run into most.
Magnus
Magnus stands out for its large flowers held on flat, horizontal rosy-purple petals that don't droop the way many coneflowers do.
White Swan
White Swan trades the usual purple for clean white petals circling a warm coppery-orange cone.
Cheyenne Spirit
Cheyenne Spirit is a seed-grown mix that throws flowers in red, orange, yellow, purple, and cream from a single packet.
How to propagate
Coneflower is easy to multiply, whether you split an established clump or start fresh from seed and let the plant sow itself.
DivisionModerate
Divide clumps in spring or fall, roughly every 3 to 4 years when they become overcrowded. · One growing season to re-establish.
Lift a crowded clump in spring or fall, every 3 to 4 years or so, and split it into pieces that each keep roots and shoots. Replant the divisions right away, and they settle back in over a single growing season.
SeedEasy
Sow indoors 8 to 10 weeks before last frost or allow self-seeding in the garden. · Germinates in 10 to 20 days; typically blooms the second year from seed.
Start seed indoors 8 to 10 weeks before the last frost, or just let the plant drop its own seed in the bed. Sprouts appear in 10 to 20 days, but the plants usually wait until their second year to flower. Leave the seed heads standing and coneflower reseeds itself with no help from you.
Myths
Coneflowers won't rebloom unless you deadhead them.
Plants come back into bloom on their own whether or not you snip the old flowers. Deadheading mainly tidies the look of the plant, while leaving some seed heads feeds the birds and lets the plant sow itself for next year.
Echinacea is toxic and dangerous to pets.
Purple coneflower never appears on the ASPCA toxic plant list and is treated as non-toxic across the board. It even has a long track record as an herbal supplement for people.