Sorry to hear about your coneflowers. They are such beautiful flowers, especially those prickly discs.
There is one pest, the Coneflower Rosette Mite, that are microscopic (very difficult to see without magnification) and live within the flower buds and suck nutrients from the base of the flowers. They can cause stunted and distorted flower parts, as well as green to reddish-green elongated rosette-like tufts that sprout from the tops or sides of the cones.
It also could be a sign of some sort of fungal disease or rot that is stemming from an issue with the roots.
Unfortunately, it is probably best to remove the infected flowers and put them in the trash—do not compost. In the fall, perform your annual cleanup maintenance and, if possible, pull up one of the flowers to see if there is any issue underground.
Sorry to hear about your coneflowers. They are such beautiful flowers, especially those prickly discs.
There is one pest, the Coneflower Rosette Mite, that are microscopic (very difficult to see without magnification) and live within the flower buds and suck nutrients from the base of the flowers. They can cause stunted and distorted flower parts, as well as green to reddish-green elongated rosette-like tufts that sprout from the tops or sides of the cones.
It also could be a sign of some sort of fungal disease or rot that is stemming from an issue with the roots.
Unfortunately, it is probably best to remove the infected flowers and put them in the trash—do not compost. In the fall, perform your annual cleanup maintenance and, if possible, pull up one of the flowers to see if there is any issue underground.