Ask-a-Dave's-Gardener: Help! Frustrated with Chewed-up Coneflowers, 1 by Florasmith

Florasmith wrote:
Can someone please reveal the secret to beautiful, lush, vibrant, cheerful coneflowers?

I have some planted in part-full sun. Planted in mid-May. Somewhat sandy, well draining soil. I added a bit of lobster compost to the planting hole, watered well to get established, and use 10-10-10 every 4-6 weeks. The plants really took off and have lots of buds. But the petals are being chewed off as soon as they emerge, leaving them raggedy looking.

I have seen goldfinches and a few June Bugs around them, so I suspect they\'re to blame. Could be earwigs, maybe? Is there anything I can do that won\'t hurt bees? I recently used a homemade garlic-chili spray, while most of the flowers are in bud form to try and ward off the attackers before they open up. A few days later, I saw one dead bee and one that looked \"unwell.\" I feel terrible now... 😕 Thinking of using nematodes in September...

Coneflowers are always marketed as an easy beginner plant, yet mine always look \"meh\" and take up so much of my mental energy to figure out. I see gorgeous ones all around me, so I know it\'s doable. Is the trick to have enough massed together that the raggedy blooms are kind of obscured? Would \'Pink Double Delight\' be good, so the extra petals can hide some damage? :)

Thank you!

P.S. My shasta daisies are also affected, but not as much.