I have a small collection of Echinacea commonly known as Coneflower. Thought I’d share a few of the photo of those in bloom now. They’re about the best flower for adding color to the garden during this heat wave.
The images include Hot Papaya, Coconut Lime, and the common Purple. It’s best to cut off the blooms the first year you plant from the nursery. I know, it’s a hard thing to do, however, the result of letting it build a great root system
will reward you next year. Many people think they’re hard to grow for that very reason. The plant puts so much of its energy in the bloom and not the root that they often don’t survive. They are easy to grow. Coneflower is known to get black spots (botrytis) and powdery mildew at times. If you find no petals on the bloom or the foliage is yellow then it’s probably aster yellows which has no known cure. It’s spread through leafhoppers. These pests hop from plants when disturbed sucking from the stems.
Every year a few new hybrid introductions are made. I’ve been loving the “Orange” and Hot Reds that have been introduced the past few years. Planted a few more this year, but cut off the blooms to let those roots grown. Guess you’ll have to wait till next year for those.
Monroe County Master Gardener Association 