Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
Rosy-purple blooms from midsummer to fall shrug off heat, drought, and poor soil. A pollinator hub in summer, goldfinch food all winter.
Typically 1 pint–1 gal · $9–$30 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Sep 248 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Sep 258 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Sep 268 AM – 2 PM
The quintessential native perennial. drought tolerant, monarchs and goldfinches depend on it, and the winter seed cones are structurally beautiful from fall through early spring.
Purple Coneflower may be the single most recognized native plant in American gardens, and for good reason. The rosy-purple, drooping ray petals and prominent, spiky orange-copper disk blooms from midsummer through fall on plants that tolerate heat, drought, and poor soil with equal indifference. Monarchs, swallowtails, skippers, native bees, and goldfinches all use it heavily: a single plant in full bloom is a pollinator hub that's worth watching for an hour. After bloom, the spiky seed cones persist through fall and winter, providing food for goldfinches that cling to the stems and pick them apart methodically. Cut back only what you must: the winter cone silhouette is structurally beautiful against snow or frost, and the goldfinches depend on it. One of the foundation plants for any native garden, and as reliable as any perennial in cultivation.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown purple coneflower propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
- Mature size
- 2'–4' · 18-24 inches wide
- Bloom time
- Summer to fall, July–September
- Family
- Asteraceae
- Native range
- Eastern North America. open woods, prairies, and roadsides from Ohio to Iowa south to Louisiana and Georgia
Care notes for purple coneflower.
Plant in full sun in average, well-drained soil. Purple Coneflower is drought tolerant once established and performs better in lean soil than rich. too much fertilizer produces floppy plants with fewer flowers. Deadhead spent blooms to extend flowering, but leave some heads to set seed for goldfinches. Cut back to the ground in early spring. Divide every four to five years if the center begins to die out. Self-seeds readily in open, sunny areas.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside purple coneflower.
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