Color Coded Yellow My Darling Coneflower

Light Needs

Partial Sun to Full Sun

(At Least 5 Hours of Direct Sunlight)

Mature Height

1.5-2 Feet

Mature Spread

16-20 Inches

Growing Zones

4 to 8

For an abundance of sunny yellow color in your summer garden, choose this darling coneflower. Its rich green leaves are a faultless contrast to its deep yellow blooms that age to the color of cream. This Echinacea hybrid was bred for uniform color and habit. The botanical name, Echinacea, is from the Latin for hedgehog due to the prickly lower stem; this prickliness is useful for repelling deer. The flowers, however, are magnets for bees and butterflies.

Color Coded® 'Yellow My Darling' Coneflower is lightly fragrant. An upright, compact plant, it has good branching. The flowers have horizontally held petals in a daisy shape that attracts pollinators. It rarely has pest or disease problems and lures beneficial insects, such as soldier beetles, that feed on aphids. Because of its deep taproot, this North American native is drought tolerant when established. It makes a beautiful specimen plant in a border and is equally striking in a mass planting. Use it as a cut flower or dried flower. Beautiful in eclectic, prairie, or wild gardens, it makes a thrilling statement in a combination container.

Color Coded Yellow My Darling Coneflower Care

This hardy perennial is easy to grow in zones 4 through 8. Before planting, loosen the soil with a garden fork and mix in 2-4 inches of compost. Dig a hole twice the pot’s diameter and the same depth as the pot, so the top of the root ball is level with the soil surface. Put a thin layer of mulch around the plant and water thoroughly. When established, this plant has low to average water needs – water if the season is extremely dry.

Spread compost or well-rotted manure around the plant in early spring. No other fertilization is needed. You don’t have to deadhead or prune this plant down. It is best to leave it standing in the winter so that the birds can enjoy the dried seeds. Cut it back in early spring as part of that season’s clean up.

Color Coded Yellow My Darling Coneflower Spacing

Plant ‘Yellow my Darling’ with compact varieties of Nepeta, with phlox, and/or with salvia. Space them 16-20 inches measured center to center of each plant.