Introducing...
Echinacea
Common name: Coneflower
Easy to grow, these bold, tough perennials are increasingly popular in gardens. Flowering in late summer, they combine well with other late perennials and grasses, especially in prairie-style plantings. The flowers are attractive to bees and butterflies.
Looks
Large daisy flowers – white, pink, red or orange – with a contrasting central rounded to cone-shaped boss are carried on sturdy, branching stems above clumps of rough, dark green leaves.
Likes
Coneflowers need a position in full sun in soil that drains easily, tolerating dry soil.
Dislikes
Coneflowers do not flower freely in shade. They prefer being planted in spring and summer, as autumn plantings are more prone to rotting off in winter, especially on wet or heavy soils. They also dislike being disturbed, so plants are best allowed to form large clumps.
Did you know?
These plants have long been used in complementary medicines, believed by some to have an immunological effect.
Growing guide
How to grow echinacea
All the information you'll need to grow and care for echinacea can be found in our RHS guide to perennials
Echinacea we recommend
Echinacea purpurea 'Virgin'
purple coneflower 'Virgin'
- 0.5–1 metres
- 0.1–0.5 metres
Echinacea pallida
pale purple coneflower
- 1–1.5 metres
- 0.1–0.5 metres
Echinacea purpurea 'Ruby Giant'
coneflower 'Ruby Giant'
- 0.5–1 metres
- 0.1–0.5 metres
Echinacea purpurea 'Virgin'
purple coneflower 'Virgin'
- 0.5–1 metres
- 0.1–0.5 metres
Echinacea pallida
pale purple coneflower
- 1–1.5 metres
- 0.1–0.5 metres
Echinacea purpurea 'Ruby Giant'
coneflower 'Ruby Giant'
- 0.5–1 metres
- 0.1–0.5 metres
Useful advice
Butterflies in your garden
Deadheading plants
Perennial borders: choosing plants
Perennials: planting
Get involved
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