Purple coneflower turning black1/1/2023 ![]() ![]() Photo: courtesy of Richard Hawke ‘Firebird’. This three-way hybrid combines all the best aspects of each parent. Chicago Botanic Garden’s Jim Ault bred and selected Pixie Meadowbrite ® from a complex cross between E. Along with its slightly upturned ray florets and hairy leaves and stems, it gets longevity from the long-lived Tennessee coneflower. What Pixie Meadowbrite ® lacks in stature-it’s just under 2 feet tall-it makes up for in staying power. The pixie-sized bright pink flowers are charming and bountiful, crowning compact plants for most of the summer. ![]() Pixie Meadowbrite ® ( Echinacea ‘CBG Cone2’) came along a few years into the coneflower craze, and honestly, it didn’t get enough attention because it wasn’t orange, red, or yellow. They are newer, or at least lesser-known, coneflowers that deserve a second-or even first-look. The following coneflowers are not necessarily brand-new, nor did they arrive at nurseries within the past year. Hopefully our findings will encourage gardeners, especially disillusioned ones, to take a fresh look at coneflowers. #Purple coneflower turning black trial#With that in mind, this coneflower trial takes a look at newer introductions to this genus-measuring them against the gold standards we’ve come to know and love from our first coneflower trial in the 1990s. Without a doubt, the first colorful hybrids were remarkable though sometimes flawed innovations, but I believe that later breeding is far superior to much of the early stuff. Unfortunately, a few too many misfires or outright duds over the years irritated gardeners, inciting a backlash against coneflowers. Pests/diseases: Aster yellows, crown rot, stem wilt, Japanese beetles, and eriophyid mites Native range: Moist prairies, meadows, and open woods of the central to southeastern United States #Purple coneflower turning black full#The excitement for the veritable rainbow of colors and whimsical double-flowered forms that followed was contagious and sparked a coneflower craze that most of us got caught up in.Ĭonditions: Full sun variable soil conditions based on species I was there at the turn of the millennium when the humble coneflower had its breakout moment as Orange Meadowbrite ®, the first orange-flowered selection, was introduced by the Chicago Botanic Garden. It’s a phenomenon I’ve observed for nearly 20 years. I think many gardeners oscillate between loving and hating coneflowers-I know I do. ![]()
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