Coneflower (Purple)

📖 About This Plant

Coneflower (Purple / Echinacea purpurea) is one of North America's most beloved native wildflowers and garden perennials, producing large, daisy-like blooms with swept-back lavender-purple petals and distinctive spiky orange-brown centers from midsummer through fall. Hardy in zones 3–9, it grows 2–4 feet tall and thrives in full sun with excellent drought tolerance once established. Purple Coneflower is a keystone wildlife plant — it attracts bees and butterflies to its nectar-rich flowers and goldfinches and chickadees to its seed heads in winter. Beyond ornamental value, echinacea has a long history in herbal medicine. It self-seeds freely and spreads slowly to form dramatic natural clumps over time.

📊 Quick Facts

📅 When to Plant in Your Area

🌱 Care Tips

Direct sow Purple Coneflower in fall for natural cold stratification and spring germination, or start indoors 8–10 weeks before last frost (refrigerate seeds in moist paper towel for 4 weeks before sowing to simulate winter). Plant in full sun in average to dry, well-drained soil — coneflower performs worse in rich, amended beds than in lean native soil. Space 18–24 inches apart. Water during establishment; established plants are notably drought-tolerant. Deadhead spent flowers for continuous bloom, but leave some seed heads standing in fall for winter wildlife — goldfinches actively feed on them. Divide congested clumps every 4–5 years in spring. Coneflowers are largely pest and disease-free and make exceptional long-lasting cut flowers.

🤝 Companion Plants

These plants grow well alongside Coneflower:

🌿 Related Flower

More flower that grow in similar conditions:

❓ Frequently Asked Questions