Eye-Catcher Tanager Coneflower

Light Needs

Partial Sun to Full Sun

(At Least 5 Hours of Direct Sunlight)

Mature Height

22-24 Inches

Mature Spread

16-18 Inches

Growing Zones

4 to 8

Here is an improved cultivar of the Purple Coneflower, an indigenous wildflower in the United States. It's brilliant orange petals with the dark bristly center provides a great contrast to the dark green lush leaves. The bright orange petals are held out horizontally without much evidence of the coneflower droop that some species exhibit. They are single petals that overlap a lot, giving them a fuller, double petalled look. There is a cute little curl at the end of some of the petals, giving this beautiful perennial flowers a slightly mussied look, adding to its charm and appeal.

Coneflowers are native to North American and E. purpurea is native to North and Central United states regions. They are tough, hardy wildflowers that grow in open fields and meadowlands, oftentimes thriving in particularly poor rocky soils. Hardy in Zones 4 to 8, Eye-Catcher Tanager will thrill Northern and Midwest gardeners with its brilliant colors and compact, well branched shape. Bees and butterflies will not be able to stay away from them, but deer typically won’t browse on them, making this perennial an environmentally good choice to grow. Save the pollinators!

Eye-Catcher Tanager Coneflower Care

An easy to care for perennial, Echinacea will grow in just about any soil you want to throw it in, poor to fertile. It prefers a sandy loamy soil with an average pH range of 5.8 to 6.2. Good news for most gardeners, though, is that it tolerates a wide range of pH levels as well, drawing its nutrients efficiently no matter where it is planted. It prefers a full sun location in all regions of its hardiness zones. It is fairly drought tolerant once it is established and it will not tolerate soggy soils. Especially during winter months when there may be snow or frequent precipitation, Echinacea will suffer if the soil does not drain properly. Fertilizer is typically not needed. Amend particularly poor soil with some well composted organic material for best results.

Deadheading will encourage new blooms to grow. Clip the stem just above the top two sets of leaves to keep the plant looking good and blooming profusely. They bloom in early spring through to late summer. Consider leaving some spent flowers and seed cones on the plants in the later summer to feed the songbirds a valuable source of nutrients for them and allow the plant to reseed itself if you would like more of them . These cones also make an interesting winter feature if left on the plant. Prune stems down to the base in late winter, early spring before new growth appears.

Eye-Catcher Tanager Coneflower Spacing

Space your plants 16 to 18 inches apart to give plenty of room to grow and to encourage good air circulation to aid in plant disease prevention. Water in early mornings so the afternoon sun dries the plants before nightfall. This will help to prevent powdery mildew, a plant disease that can affect Echinacea. Growing up to 24 inches tall and spreading out to 18 inches wide, this lovely bright perennial will be a welcome sight in your garden bed or when massed out in drifts of color in your landscape this spring.