Planting, Growing, and Caring for Coneflowers
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Looking for a flower that’s tough, pretty, and pollinator-friendly? Coneflowers (aka echinacea) are native wildflowers that bring color, charm, and goldfinches to your garden, with barely any fuss. Let’s get growing! Learn more about growing coneflower care—from planting to pests to deadheading.
About Perennial Coneflowers
Echinacea are tough perennials in the daisy family (Asteraceae) and hardy in Zones 3 to 9. They are native to the eastern and central United States, blooming in mid-summer and continue to flower sporadically until frost.
The genus is named after the Greek word for hedgehog, echinos, because of its cone-like center, which attracts butterflies and bees. Leave the seed heads after bloom, and you’ll also attract songbirds such as goldfinches!
Of course, this plant is good for humans, too, with many medicinal properties; today, it’s especially popular as an herbal tea to strengthen the immune system.
Do Coneflowers Spread?
This is not an aggressive plant, but it will naturally self-seed and spread, which you can encourage if you wait to cut back until late winter (or prohibit self-seeding if you deadhead the flowers right after they fade). Hybrids will not self-sow; most are sterile (they do not produce viable seeds). Hybrids aren’t of much interest to birds, either.
The Purple Coneflower
The purple coneflower (E. purpurea) is the most common and readily available. The flowers measure 2 to 4 inches in diameter and have a mounded, brown, central cone of disk flowers surrounded by long light purple rays that droop down the center cone. Up to nine naturally occurring echinacea can also be found in purple shades or yellow (E. paradoxa). They have dark green lower leaves 4 to 8 inches long.
Coneflowers are striking when planted in masses, especially as a mix of various colors. They are trouble-free once established in a traditional garden or wildflower meadow. They are commonly seen in perennial flower gardens.
Growing
- Coneflowers are drought tolerant, but new plants need water occasionally and more often if the spring season is especially dry.
- Native in-ground coneflowers seldom need fertilizer.
- To delay blooming for fall enjoyment (and compact growth), cut back stems 1 foot when plants come into bloom. For staggered bloom heights and times, cut only a few stems.
- Beneficial, wasplike soldier beetles may appear in August. They feed on insect eggs and larvae and pollinate plants. Do not harm them. Learn more about insects that help out around the garden.
- In late fall, lightly spread mulch in colder regions.
- Cut the stems back to soil level when they wither or after frost.
- Divide or transplant coneflowers in spring or fall.
Deadheading Coneflowers
Should you deadhead coneflowers? There are pros and cons. Deadheading right after a flower fades prolongs blooming and prevents reseeding. However, if you can wait until late winter, your birds—especially goldfinch — will enjoy those seedheads. Plus, coneflowers self-seed prolifically, so where you had only one, you’ll have multiple places in the garden with lovely blooms that attract butterflies and bees.
How to deadhead coneflowers? After the flowers fade, cut back stems to a leaf near a new flower bud or a set of leaves. Use sharp, sterilized shears as coneflowers are too thick to snap back the spent flower head with your fingers.
Growing Coneflowers in Pots
We tend to grow coneflowers in the ground as perennial plants, but you can certainly grow them in pots if the containers are deep enough for the plant’s taproot.
- Use 2- or 3-gallon (or larger) pots with drainage holes. Spread crushed gravel in the bottom of the pots for drainage.
- Fill the pot halfway with the potting mix. Tamp down. Plant the root ball an inch below the rim of the container, spreading out the roots. Add soil slowly until it is even with the top of the root ball, tamping down lightly. Water deeply.
- Keep pots in partial shade for 2 to 3 days, then place in full morning sun and partial afternoon shade.
- Always water deeply at the soil level, and the soil is dry to the touch. Water on leaves can cause fungal disease.
- Fertilize every couple of weeks with a water-soluble 10-10-10 product.
- Deadhead just below the base of the flower for continued bloom.
- To overwinter, prune plants to soil level when plant growth slows in fall.
- Move to a cool (40º to 50ºF) area, with low to moderate indirect light.
- Check the soil every couple of weeks and water lightly when the top 3 inches are dry.
- When new growth appears in spring, move to a brighter, warmer (60º to 70ºF) area. Moving the plant helps to prepare it for living outdoors in the spring and summer.
- Do not water leaves from above, as this can encourage fungal disease on leaves. Instead, water at the soil level. Use an insecticidal soap or neem oil solution spray if you see any aphids or pests.
- Every 3 to 4 years, in spring, after new growth has started, divide and repot echinacea plants.
Types
These are native, unless noted …
- ‘Robert Bloom’ (Echinacea purpurea): red-purple petals; prominent, dark orange centers
- ‘Finale White’ (E. purpurea): creamy-white petals; greenish-brown centers
- Narrow-leaf coneflower (E. augustifolia): similar to E. purpurea
- Pale purple coneflower (E. pallida); native to Ontario
- Sanguine purple coneflower (E. sanguinea): red-purple petals with streaks (sanguinea, Latin for “blood” refers to streaks in petals; native to southern states
- Smooth purple coneflower (E. laevigata): narrow, drooping, pale-pink petals; endangered
- Tennessee coneflower (E. tennesseensis): upturned mauve petals; greenish-pink centers
- Topeka purple coneflower (E. atrorubens): deep pink short petals; rare
- Wavy leaf coneflower (E. simulata): yellow pollen distinguishes it from E. pallida (white pollen)
- Yellow coneflower (E. paradoxa), aka Ozark coneflower: yellow petals
- ‘Cleopatra’ (E. hybrid): soft yellow petals; copper-green centers
Read about our favorite coneflower varieties here!
Catherine Boeckmann
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what type of coneflowers do you have? I've been wanting to plant some in my garden but not sure which to plant, do all coneflowers attract bees and butterflies?
I’ve had an echinacea passed along from a friend for well over 5 years. It is happy and healthy. It had pale yellow, almost white blooms, and would not have been a new hybrid since who knows how long my friend had it before she gave me a start. This year the blooms start yellow and turn bright orange. Doesn’t sound like a hybrid going back to the old purple, what could be going on?
Can coneflowers still be planted this time of year and all the blooms are gone? My local nursery has coneflowers on sale for 50% off. I live in Columbus, Ohio.
Sure, try it! It’s still relatively early in season, and bargain plants can be a good way to increase your stock. Check them over closely; pick the healthiest looking. If for some reason they fail, be ready to accept that outcome.
I have a purple coneflower plant that i planted in the spring from seed in a container, however since spring there has yet to be any flowers just leaves growing and getting bigger. Is this normal? And what can I do to protect it during the winter? I live in Northern Alberta Canada so the winters here get very cold! Are there any tips or precautions I should take since it's the plants first winter?
This is not just normal as it is the rule. Thee purple coneflower seedlings do not bloom the first summer, the plants die back and go dormant in late summer. This first-year dormancy is important and when plants develop strong roots. Plants flower in summer of the second year, and every year after that.
Hi,
I live in Iowa. Our winters get a bit chilly -- hanging at -15F (-26C) for periods last winter. I cut the coneflowers to the ground in November. They are covered with snow for months, and they do fine the next year.
I had a pot full and cut the heads off but left the stems in the pot will they grow back or do I need the seeds. Not sure if these have bulbs or rhizomes.
Keep covered with a frost cloth. Dead head the blooms and keep the plant nice an short. Put mulch around the mound of the stem and make sure you keep some kind of slow release fertilizer mixed in.
How can I do to encourage more blooms than leaves on the Cornflower plant in a container? When pruning the leaves, should I prune the bigger more established leaves or the smaller ones?
