GardenPerennial Herb · zones 3–8 · 19 varieties
Purple Coneflower
Echinacea purpurea
Asteraceae — the same plant family as head lettuce, leaf lettuce, common sunflower, calendula and 12 more here. Relatives share pests and diseases, which is why rotation plans group by family.
Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) is a perennial herb for USDA zones 3–8. It wants full sun and pH 6–8 soil, with about 0.5–1 in of water weekly. Watch for japanese beetle and aster yellows. Below: its full sourced profile from 4 extension sources, plus a planting calendar timed to your frost dates.
Typical dates for zone 6b — set your zone or ZIP for yours. This calendar assumes the crop is started indoors. Timing is a guide from the crop's sourced growth stages; confirm with your local frost dates and extension before you sow.
What we will not put a number on
We do not give a feeding rate for this crop, and that is deliberate rather than a gap. The figures published by extension services are pounds of nitrogen per acre for a production field — they do not convert safely to a raised bed or a pot without knowing your soil test and your fertilizer's analysis, and guessing errs toward burning roots. It is also why every chart you find online disagrees with the next one.
We give watering as a depth per week rather than gallons per plant, because that is how it is actually measured and how the published figures are written. A gallons-per-plant number depends on your spacing, your soil and whether the plant is in a pot — so it would look more precise than it is.
Site & soil
- Hardiness zones
- 3–8
- Sun
- Full sun
- Soil pH
- 6–8
- Soil texture
- Loam, Sandy, Clay, Well drained
- Frost tolerance
- Very hardy
No published figure for the temperature frost starts to hurt it and the temperature that would kill it. We looked — where a number is missing here it is missing from the research, not skipped. The crop’s frost and heat tolerance above still applies.
The plant
- Mature height
- 2–4 ft
- Mature spread
- 1–2 ft
- Growth rate
- Fastest
- Spacing in row
- 12–36 in
- Between rows
- 18–30 inest
- Planting depth
- 0–0.25 inest
- Container size
- 1–3 gal — low end is the minimum, high end is betterest
- Support
- Self-supporting
- Grown from
- Seed, Division, Root cutting
Water & feeding
- Water needs
- Low
- Water per week
- 0.5–1 in/wkest
- Critical water
- Establishmentest
- Feeding
- Low
Timing & fruiting
- Harvest cues
- First flowers
Edible parts per source: leaf.
Compiled from the extensions cited below. Which ones actually show up depends on your region — your extension's local list is the last word.
| Variety | Type | Habit | Days | Color | What it is known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butterfly Kisses Echinacea | Upright | — | Bicolor | New Blooms Nursery describes this asextra rows of petals · smaller than most | |
| Cheyenne Spirit Echinacea | Hybrid | Mounding | — | Bicolor | Johnny's Selected Seeds describes this asdraws bees and butterflies |
| Coconut Lime Echinacea | Upright | — | White | Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc. describes this asextra rows of petals · good for cutting and putting in a vase | |
| Common Purple Coneflower Echinacea Heirloom | Purpurea | Upright | — | Pink | NC State Extension records this asdraws bees and butterflies |
| Fatal Attraction Echinacea | Upright | — | Brown | Clemson Cooperative Extension Home & Garden Information Center records this asgets by on less water · deer usually leave it alone · takes the heat · draws bees and butterflies · good for cutting and putting in a vase | |
| Green Envy Echinacea | Upright | — | Bicolor | Clemson Cooperative Extension Home & Garden Information Center records this asgets by on less water · deer usually leave it alone · takes the heat · draws bees and butterflies · good for cutting and putting in a vase | |
| Hot Papaya Echinacea | Purpurea | Upright | — | Orange | Hoffie Nursery describes this asextra rows of petals |
| Kim's Knee High Echinacea | Purpurea | Upright | — | Pink | Plant Delights Nursery describes this assmaller than most |
| Magnus Echinacea | Purpurea | Upright | — | Pink | Clemson Cooperative Extension Home & Garden Information Center records this asgets by on less water · deer usually leave it alone · takes the heat · draws bees and butterflies · good for cutting and putting in a vase |
| Pica Bella Echinacea | Purpurea | Upright | — | Purple | Missouri Botanical Garden describes this assmaller than most |
| PowWow White Echinacea | Purpurea | Upright | — | White | Proven Winners describes this assmaller than most |
| PowWow Wild Berry Echinacea | Purpurea | Upright | — | Brown | All-America Selections describes this assmaller than most |
| Prairie Splendor Echinacea | Purpurea | Upright | — | Purple | Missouri Botanical Garden describes this assmaller than most |
| Ruby Star (Rubinstern) Echinacea | Purpurea | Upright | — | Red | Digging Dog Nursery describes this asdraws bees and butterflies |
| Secret Lust Echinacea | Upright | — | Bicolor | Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc. describes this asextra rows of petals · smaller than most | |
| Sombrero Adobe Orange Echinacea | Hybrid | Upright | — | Orange | Clemson Cooperative Extension Home & Garden Information Center records this asgets by on less water · deer usually leave it alone · takes the heat · draws bees and butterflies · good for cutting and putting in a vase |
| Sombrero Salsa Red Echinacea | Hybrid | Upright | — | Brown | Clemson Cooperative Extension Home & Garden Information Center records this asgets by on less water · deer usually leave it alone · takes the heat · draws bees and butterflies · good for cutting and putting in a vase |
| Tomato Soup Echinacea | Mounding | — | Red | Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc. describes this asgood for cutting and putting in a vase · draws bees and butterflies | |
| White Swan Echinacea | Purpurea | Upright | — | White | Clemson Cooperative Extension Home & Garden Information Center records this asgets by on less water · deer usually leave it alone · takes the heat · draws bees and butterflies · good for cutting and putting in a vase |
- Clemson Cooperative Extension Home & Garden Information Center
- Missouri Botanical Garden
- NC State Extension
- University of Illinois Extension
We compile bare facts from these university-extension and horticultural sources, never copied prose. 13 of the 19 values on this page carry a citation. The rest are marked est; hover one and it says why — either nobody publishes a figure we could point at, or a person set it and attached no source. Figures vary with climate and seed source; confirm with your local extension before you buy.
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