Do you like the convenience of adding low-maintenance perennials to your garden? If so, purple coneflower may be the perfect plant for you. There are many pluses to this native plant that easily include bright color, hassle-free maintenance, and a number of wildlife.
It is hardy, can survive in almost any soil, and is drought tolerant once established. You get two months-plus of colorful, beautiful flowers that attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, followed by seed heads that feed birds in the winter. That’s a lot of ticks in a lot of different boxes.
If you already grow coneflowers, you will understand how these plants, also known as echinacea, are as reliable as they come. But here we want to sing about the purple coneflower, so let’s look at what this beautiful plant brings to the yard and how easy it is to grow.
All About Purple Coneflower
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) is a herbaceous perennial plant native to the eastern and central US. It usually grows in plains or meadows, but has become a popular background plant for its color, shape, texture, and natural ability to attract wildlife.
Purple coneflower is hardy in US zones 3-8 and grows between 24 and 60 inches tall, depending on the variety.
The plants have jagged-shaped leaves and straight stems covered with daisy-like flowers in pink and purple (as the name suggests). Hanging petals surround a prominent, dark center.
Why Grow a Purple Coneflower
There are many reasons to love the purple coneflower, not least because it is versatile and blooms from summer to early fall. Coneflower species often burst into flower in mid-summer, and can bring color and wildlife to flower beds and containers for about two months.
You can plant them singly or in groups in leafy borders, or add them to wildflower beds or landscape plantings. Straight stems and bright flowers make excellent cut flowers.
Once established, the plants are very low maintenance and make drought tolerant perennials. Purple coneflower plants can withstand heat and short periods of dry weather, making them ideal for tropical climates, dry gardens, and xeriscaping.
It is generally accepted that purple coneflower plants make great additions to any wildlife garden. They are excellent pollinators, with bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds attracted to the nectar-rich flowers.
In addition, if you leave the seed heads dry at the end of the season, the seeds become an important food source for birds, including cardinals, goldfinches, and blue jays.
How to Grow a Purple Coneflower
You can usually find purple coneflower plants for sale at garden centers, nurseries, or online, if you want to add one to your yard.
There are more than 100 varieties, but the most popular variety is ‘Magnus’, adored for its deeply colored flowers on upright stems throughout the season. You can find the purple coneflower ‘Magnus’ at Nature Hills. When planting a purple coneflower, be careful not to bury the crown, because this can cause rot.
Another, budget-friendly way to grow purple coneflower is by sowing seeds. Planting purple coneflower seeds in the spring requires a period of cold separation in the refrigerator, or you can sow outside in the fall to experience the natural cold of winter.
You can find purple coneflower seed packets on Amazon to sow at home, but it will take two years for the plants to start flowering.
Maintenance Tips
- The ground – Purple coneflowers are very adaptable plants, and can tolerate poor soil types where other perennials would struggle. They like fertile soil, but can live in clay, sandy or rocky soil. The important thing is that it absorbs well, as it does not like to stay in wet soil for a long time. Applying compost (like this bag of premium compost at Walmart) to the bed beforehand can enrich the soil and improve drainage.
- The light – Plants do best when planted in full sun, where they can get six to eight hours of sunlight every day. Purple coneflowers can tolerate light shade, but flowering will be reduced. In the hotter US hardiness zones, plants benefit from some afternoon shade to rest from the hot sun.
- Water – Purple coneflower needs regular watering in the first season after planting. After this, it is a drought-resistant plant that only needs deep watering from time to time during long dry periods. Plants will do best with regular watering, about an inch per week.
- Pruning – Deadheading coneflowers throughout the summer will encourage new flowers, extending the display. You can reward yourself with longer flowering plants by cutting back to the next set of leaves with sharp garden shears or pruning shears (I’m a fan of these Felco shears on Amazon for more precise pruning jobs). At the end of the flowering season, leave the plants standing to feed the birds throughout the winter. Cut back the coneflowers in the spring, cutting the stems to a low level so that the new ones can pass through unhindered. Coneflowers are self-pollinating flowers, so watch for new plants emerging if you leave seed heads for the birds.
What you can buy
If you want to grow a butterfly garden, this seed pack will grow many purple coneflower perennials. You will get about 500 seeds per pack.
To fertilize coneflowers, use a feed that is lower in nitrogen than phosphorus or potassium, such as this organic tomato fertilizer, and feed the plants once or twice during the season.
This soil moisture meter can help you avoid overwatering purple coneflower plants. Just insert the probe, and it will indicate how wet the soil is.
Over the years, purple coneflower plants will grow into large clumps. While this may sound good, it presents problems. Overcrowded patches can lose vigor due to competition, and flowering is reduced as a result.
For best performance year after year, it is recommended to divide the plants every three or four years. Digging and dividing refreshes clumps and gives you more wildlife-friendly plants to add elsewhere in the yard.